Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed says CNN ought to be sanctioned for what he described as one-dimensional investigative report on Lekki shootings.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the minister said the report was not balanced, adding that the American cable network relied on videos which circulated on social media.
The Minister who further described the report as misinforming and irresponsible, insisted that the military fired blank bullets into the air and not at peaceful protesters.
He also urged people who lost relatives or whose family members have been missing since the incident to report to the judicial panel investigating it.
It is worthwhile to note that CNN said it made efforts to get statements from both the Nigerian Army and Lagos State government to no avail.
The development reflects government’s effort at gagging the media just like the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) fined three broadcast stations – Channels Television, Arise Television and Africa Independent Television – N3 million each for their coverage of #EndSARS protests.