Nigeria: #EndSARS - Soldiers At Toll Gate Issued Blank Bullets, No Massacre - Lai Mohammed

A former Minister of Information and National Orientation, Lai Mohammed, on Monday, reiterated that soldiers deployed to the Lekki Toll Gate during the 2020 EndSARS protests were issued blank bullets, insisting that no massacre occurred at the site.

Speaking on Channels Television, Mohammed acknowledged casualties during the EndSARS protests but clarified that claims of a massacre at the toll gate were unfounded.

"The federal government never said there were no casualties during EndSARS. Thirty-seven policemen lost their lives, six soldiers died, but there was no massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate; that is the only massacre that had no bodies. I challenge anybody to come and tell me today that 'my son and my daughter were at the Lekki Toll Gate and he didn't come back,"' he said.

Mohammed emphasised that soldiers sent to the toll gate were tasked only with quelling the protests and were issued blank bullets.

"Soldiers were issued blank bullets when they went to the Lekki Toll Gate. The actors are alive today. There was a lot of fake news around it. Tell me one person who says my ward was shot and killed there. Soldiers were only deployed to quell the riot, but they were issued blank bullets," he stated.

On whether blank bullets could cause injury, the minister acknowledged the possibility, saying, "Yes, it could. I am not a forensic expert, but I know there was no massacre."

This is not the first time Mohammed has defended the late former Muhammadu Buhari government's handling of the Lekki Toll Gate protests.

He has repeatedly maintained that while there were casualties during the EndSARS demonstrations, the widely circulated claims of a large-scale massacre were misleading and fueled by misinformation.

Speaking on the trial of some former ministers who were being investigated by the federal government, Mohammed said it would be unfair to judge the Buhari government's legacy based on allegations against a few ministers.

"I think it is unfair to ask me to pronounce judgment on my colleagues, but I don't think the legacy of Buhari is on trial. It will be unfair to use a few ministers who have been alleged," he said.

The minister cited achievements under the administration, including Nigeria's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the renovation of the National Theatre, as examples of positive legacies that controversial events should not overshadow.

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