Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed on Friday alleged that the letter the Federal Government wrote to CNN over its report of the October 20 incident involving #EndSARS protesters at Lekki, Lagos has left the network in “desperation” and “panic”.
CNN had insisted the military fired live bullets at protesters. It also aired a second report after the Nigerian government’s letter to its headquarters in the United States.
Speaking in Abuja during a stakeholders meeting with members of Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), Mohammed stressed the need for broadcast stations to adhere strictly to the gate-keeping tradition instead of rushing to use materials that are not authenticated.
He said: “Since we sent our letter, CNN has been grasping at straws in desperation, to justify its inaccurate and unbalanced investigation.”
Speaking further, the minister said: “This is very unambiguous and CNN is exhibiting panic by seeking to clarify its tweet some 35 days later.
“Instead of engaging in such panic, CNN should come clean by admitting that it goofed badly on the Lekki toll gate incident.”
