The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria has called for the dismissal, arrest, and trial of the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, for alleged falsehood as to what transpired at the Lekki tollgate, Lagos State on October 20, 2020.
The organisation claimed that the minister lied to Nigerians, adding that his claims have now been contradicted by a judicial panel of investigators in Lagos.
This was contained in a statement issued against the backdrops of the issuance of a conclusive judicial report by the Lagos State Judicial Panel of investigations into the Lekki incident last year. Lai Mohammed had claimed there was no killing, the panel confirmed there was a massacre in ‘context’.
The 309-page report detailed how the Army and Police disregarded their rules of engagement during the protest.
The report in summary said: “The panel in its report found that on October 20, 2020, at the Lekki Toll Gate, officers of the Nigerian Army shot, injured and killed unarmed, helpless and defenseless protesters without provocation or justification, while they were waving the Nigerian flag and singing the national anthem and the manner of assault and killing could in context be described as a massacre.