Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has restated his long-held position that while lives were lost during the #EndSARS protests, no deaths occurred at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020.
According to the former minister, his stance has remained consistent since the protests, insisting that the Federal Government never denied that lives were lost during the nationwide protest.
“Five years later, my position has not changed. At no point did the government ever say that lives were not lost during #EndSARS. We lost several lives, including soldiers and policemen, but nobody was killed at the toll gate,” he said.
Mohammed explained that he was in constant communication with senior military officials as events unfolded, even before soldiers were deployed to Lagos.
He further argued that the absence of verifiable casualty claims from families supports his position.
“Even before the soldiers were drafted, I was in touch with the Chief of Defence Staff. I was in touch with the hierarchy of the military because we were monitoring these developments.
“It’s a very simple logic. Five years after, nobody has come out today to say, ‘My ward went to the toll gate, and he didn’t come back,’” Mohammed stated.