Former Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, has maintained that soldiers deployed to the Lekki Tollgate during the October 2020 EndSARS protests were issued blank bullets, insisting that no massacre occurred at the site. Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, Mohammed defended the Federal Government’s position under former President Muhammadu Buhari.

He acknowledged casualties during EndSARS, noting that 37 policemen and six soldiers d!ed nationwide, but emphasised that the Lekki Tollgate was not among the sites of fatalities. “We reported and admitted casualties in places like Kano and Abuja, but there were no massacres at the Lekki Tollgate,” he said.

Mohammed criticised international media, particularly CNN, for relying on unverified reports, describing the Lekki incident as “the only massacre in the world with no bodies.” He challenged critics to present evidence of d3aths at the tollgate, asking, “Tell me one person who says my daughter or my son was at the Lekki Tollgate and didn’t return home. It’s five years on.”

He confirmed that soldiers at the tollgate were issued blank ammunition, which can cause injuries but not d3ath. Mohammed also stated he reviewed the Lagos State panel report on the incident and kept in contact with the Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Staff throughout the operations.

Reflecting on the Buhari administration, he defended the 2021 Twitter (now X) suspension, calling the platform a “choice for anyone wanting to destabilise the country.” The EndSARS protests, sparked by calls to disband the Special Anti-Robbery Squad over police brutality, continue to be commemorated annually, five years after the Lekki Tollgate events.