Lekki Shooting: Watch CNN’s Reaction to FG’s Threat on Sanction

Lekki Shooting: Watch CNN’s Reaction to FG’s Threat on Sanction

On November 19, the Federal government of Nigeria debunked the investigative report of Cable News Network CNN, on the October 20 Lekki shooting incident.

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said it was”One-dimensional” and ‘Lacked balance”. Lai said that CNN deserves to be sanctioned for their report. Read here

CNN released a statement via its spokesperson last night saying they stand by their report.

Here is the full statement:

“This should earn CNN a serious sanction for irresponsible reporting,” Mohammed said.

“Our reporting was carefully and meticulously researched, and we stand by it,” CNN stated.

It added, “The report was based on testimony from dozens of witnesses, and photos and video obtained and geolocated by CNN. It painted a picture of how members of the Nigerian army and the police shot at the crowd, killing at least one person and wounding dozens more.

“CNN verified photos and videos acquired from multiple eyewitnesses and protesters using timestamps and other data from the video files. Video footage shows soldiers who appear to be shooting in the direction of protesters. And accounts from eyewitnesses established that after the army withdrew, a second round of shooting happened later in the evening.

“Prior to publishing the report, CNN tried multiple times to elicit comment from the Nigerian army and police. A Lagos State police spokesman declined to comment because of an ongoing investigation. While a statement from the Lagos State government said that there would be no comment while a judicial tribunal was underway.”

Watch the video from the media house reacting to FG’s threat to sanction it.