Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed
By Our Reporter
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack his Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, immediately for lying about the #EndSARS’ Casualties.
The group said Mohammed should be sacked and arrested for lying to Nigerians and the world.
HURIWA made the call following the report of the Panel of Investigation set by the Lagos State Government to unravel the incident of October 20, 2020, at the popular Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos State.
The report released Monday indicted the police and soldiers of the Nigerian Army of killing defenceless youths protesting police brutality and bad governance in Nigeria.
Mohammed, in a series of press conferences denied the massacre and even made the CNN to retract its report.
Despite the Federal Government’s stance, the report showed obvious evidence that there was indeed a massacre at the Lekki tollgate.
HURIWA, therefore, called for the dismissal, arrest and trial of Mohammed for his egregious falsehood which has now been contradicted by a judicial panel of investigation in Lagos.
HURIWA made the demand in a media statement today.
The 309-page report detailed how the Army and Police disregarded their rules of engagement during the protest.
The group recalled that Mohammed also faulted the claim by Amnesty International that no fewer than 12 protesters were killed in Lagos State by security operatives during the #EndSARS protest.
HURIWA in its statement said it “is asking President Muhammadu Buhari as a biological father of many well-educated children, to order the arrest and prosecution of his minister of information Lai Mohammed for committing a grave and heartless offence that is equivalent to the denial of the Holocaust of the 6 million Jews by Adolf Hitler which is punishable by nearly half a century of incarceration.
“HURIWA is also commending the brave members and Chairperson of the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on the #ENDSARS PROTESTS especially the circumstances surrounding the massive cases of extrajudicial killings by the Army and armed police when these armed forces opened fire with lethal weapons targeted at the unarmed protesters.”
The rights group has asked the President not to sweep the lawlessness of the security agencies under the carpet.
It also urged Buhari not to allow his information minister to get away with the impunity of denying the massacre that happened before the eyes of the world and which was captured live on video cameras.
HURIWA said if Buhari failed to take any action, he will be remembered long after he has retired from public office as a dictator who oversaw the genocide of young protesters.
It said the generations unborn will never forgive him for this.
“President Muhammadu Buhari must note that as a Father of many Children he needs to ensure that impunity is never tolerated especially the extrajudicial killings of very youngsters of Nigeria by the Army just for protesting police Brutality”, HURIWA said.
