Dear Mr. Hawkins,
Please find attached herewith the non-PDF version of the letter from Nigeria's Hon. Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on the recent 'investigative' report by the CNN on the #EndSARS crisis in Nigeria.

Also attached are links to three videos referenced in the letter

Best regards

Segun Adeyemi
Special Assistant to the President (Media)
Office of the Minister of Information and Culture
Abuja, Nigeria




LETTER


23 Nov. 2020

Mr. Jonathan Hawkins
VP, Communications
CNN Centre
Atlanta, Georgia
U.S,

RE: HOW A BLOODY NIGHT OF BULLETS QUASHED A YOUNG PROTEST MOVEMENT

Our attention has been drawn to an 'investigation' by CNN, entitled 'How a Bloody Night of Bullets Quashed a Young Protest Movement' and aired on 18 Nov. 2020, in which the international news organization said it had ''uncovered that Nigerian security forces opened fire on unarmed protesters'' at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, Nigeria, during the #EndSARS protest.

2. We write to put on record that the report did not just fall short
of journalistic standards, it reinforces the disinformation that is
going around on the issue, it is blatantly irresponsible and it is a
poor piece of journalistic work by a reputable international news
organization.

3. In the first instance, the report did not live up to the most
basic of the core principles of journalism - balance and fairness.
According to the website www.ethics.journalists.org, ''balance and
fairness are classic buzzwords of journalism ethics: In objective
journalism, stories must be balanced in the sense of attempting to
present all sides of a story. Fairness means that a journalist should
strive for accuracy and truth in reporting, and not slant a story so a
reader draws the reporter’s desired conclusion.''

4. Rushing to air such a momentous story without presenting the
government's side is inexcusable and indefensible. CNN said it
contacted over 100 protesters and family members, but did not speak to one official of Nigeria's federal government. While CNN said there was no response from the army and that officials of Lagos State would not speak in view of the Judicial Panel that is investigating the matter, it did not say what effort it made to speak with any official of the federal government.

5. The truth is that CNN did not even attempt to reach the federal
government. Nima Elbagir, who presented the report and most probably led the investigation, is conversant with the Minister of Information and Culture, who is also the Spokesman for the Federal Government of Nigeria, yet did not say that she even tried to reach the Minister. It is therefore strange, to say the least, that she would rush to air such an important 'investigation' report without getting the government's side. In other words, Nima, and by extension CNN, breached the most basic of the core principles of journalism - balance and fairness.

6. Another serious breach by CNN, in its 'investigation', is that
the network relied heavily on unverified footages it harvested from
social media. CNN was not present at the Lekki Toll Gate on the night of the incident. Neither its reporter nor cameraman was there, but it relied on eyewitnesses. Well, this is fraught with danger. While experts say eyewitness testimony is a potent form of evidence, it is also subject to unconscious memory distortions and biases, Unlike CNN, a reporter from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Pidgin Service, Damilola Banjo, was at the Lekki Toll Gate on the night in question, and was quoted as saying soldiers shot sporadically into the air and not at the protesters - a direct contradiction of the position taken by CNN who relied on second and third-hand information.

7. In airing its 'investigative' report, CNN conveniently forgot that
on Oct. 23rd 2020, it emphatically tweeted, from its verified twitter
handle, that the military killed 38 people when it opened fire on
peaceful protesters on Tuesday, Oct. 20th 2020. Almost a month later, the same CNN - after a supposedly exhaustive investigation - is now reporting only one death from what the world was made to believe was a massacre. Is CNN not embarrassed by this sharp climbdown? Has CNN owned up to this and apologized for its faux paz?

8. It is also interesting that while CNN obtained footage showing
when the vehicles carrying soldiers left their barracks and arrived at the Lekki Toll Gate, it could not obtain any footage showing the
bodies of those supposedly killed in the 'massacre'. After all,
forensic ballistic experts will most likely testify that firing
military grade weapons into a crowd will not leave anyone needing a microscope to look for blood or bodies at the scene.

9. CNN has said it stands by its story, and that ''our reporting was
carefully and meticulously researched", This is baffling, considering
that the story lacks fairness and balance, as we have pointed out, and that the organization relied heavily on manipulated social media videos. This resort to an escapist cliche seems more like a
face-saving measure by an otherwise respectable news network caught in the blinding glare of 'fake news and disinformation' headlamps. Or how else does one explain the arrogant defence of an international news network that would not even respect the most basic principle of journalism?

10. One of CNN's star eyewitnesses in its 'investigative' reporting
is DJ Switch. Unknown to CNN, DJ Switch's story on the Lekki Toll Gate shooting has changed several times. From claiming she counted 78 bodies of protesters who were supposedly killed by soldiers on the night of the Lekki Toll Gate incident, she has twice, at least, changed the casualty figure from 78 to 15 and then to 7, without a shred of evidence. CNN cannot pretend not to know that for anyone to act as a witness, his or her credibility must be unimpeachable. DJ Switch's credibility does not meet that threshold.

11. In one of social media videos of DJ Switch that was used by CNN (see attached link 1), the lady (DJ Switch) claimed she and some unnamed persons carried dead bodies and dropped them at the feet of the soldiers. She also claimed she spoke to their Commander before the soldiers threw the bodies into the vans. Curiously, for someone who was streaming live on Instagram during the Lekki Toll Gate incident, there was not a single video or picture of the dead bodies. Not even Godson (Uyi), another CNN star witness whose video was also used by the network, or any of the hundreds of protesters, all armed with smart phones, at the scene recorded a video or shot a picture of dead bodies being carried away by soldiers.

12. Talking of Godson, despite claiming to have analyzed hours of
footage, it is curious that CNN conveniently left out key parts of
Godson's 57-minute, 5-second video (see attached link 2). For example,

13 minutes, 40 seconds into the video, there were voices, in street
lingo, in the background telling Godson that the gunshots were not
from the soldiers (na boys dey shoot, that na local gun sound....it's
boys, meaning touts and hoodlums, who are shooting. That's local gun). Some 20 minutes,14 seconds into the video, Godson confirmed that the boys had brought out their guns and were shooting (local okah, he called it). Some 23 minutes, 14 seconds into the video, Godson said 'wait, all these boys dey shoot' (meaning gunshots rang out from the touts/hoodlums). CNN, in its rush to nail soldiers and tell a 'radically different story', conveniently left out these parts of the Godson video, which could have shown that armed hoodlums invaded the Lekki Toll Gate that night, and could have hit any of the protesters as they shot sporadically. This is clearly a ploy by the CNN reporter/presenter to manipulate viewers of its 'investigative' report and force them to draw the reporter's desired conclusion! Another video showing an armed protester at the Lekki Toll Gate (see attached link 3) was apparently not among the footage reviewed by CNN!

13. It is shocking that all through its 'investigation', CNN did not
for once mention the fact that six soldiers and 37 policemen were
killed during the #EndSARS crisis, which also left 196 policemen
injured, not to talk of the monumental destruction of government and private properties across the country. Instead, the network is fixated on the massacre that never happened. Are security agents not human beings too? Are they not entitled to the protection of their human rights?

14. For the record, this is not the first time that CNN has carried
an inaccurate or hoax story about Nigeria. In February 2007, Nigeria accused CNN of staging one of its reports from the country's Niger Delta region, showing gunmen holding 24 Filipinos hostage. Of course, CNN and its then Africa Correspondent Jeff Koinange flatly denied the charge, saying the network did not pay for any part of the report. Later, in an email reportedly sent to a friend, Mr. Koinange was quoted as saying: "Of course we had to pay certain people to get the story... You do not get such a story without bribing." So much for denials!

15. As a form of remediation, Nigeria's Federal Government demands an immediate and exhaustive investigation from CNN into its 'investigative' report on the Lekki Toll Gate incident to determine, among others, its authenticity, whether or not it met the basic standards of journalism and also the selective use of unverified social media videos to manipulate public opinion. While it is up to CNN to accede or not, please note that the Federal Government reserves the right to take any action within its laws to prevent CNN from aggravating the #EndSARS crisis with unprofessional, irresponsible, one-sided, inciting and sensational reporting that is capable of pitching Nigerians against themselves and setting the country on fire.

16. Please accept the assurances of my warm regards.


Lai Mohammed
Hon. Minister

Reference links


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2QVmb-Tb1g


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AtXyX1MqYk

George soros and co. sponsoring the protest. Example the feminine movement and jack dorsey are both satanist, so is cardi b, beyonce and Rihanna. Who are co sponsors. I always shake my head, whenever i see good people amongst the protest. Why will someone follow Yahoo boys to protest. When they got exposed they start rioting, looting and burning. They want to bring lawlessness to Nigeria in the name of peaceful protest. The constitution most not be violated.
God bless Nigerian Army

I don't know why I think this letter is interesting stupid...

I

From what i just read..if dis govt dey write a love letter to a woman..she no go gree.

Good... Let's see how it would go.

CNN have been causing trouble globally with their reckless journalism.

From 30+ dead to 1

Na Lai even release statement

Lair Muhammed needs to be schooled

He kept nagging instead of him to refute in details and with verifiable facts all the claims CNN made.

He kept referring to a BBC reporter that said she ran away 20 mins into the shooting

Be Like Say This End Sars People De Mad... Nigeria's Flag Remains Green White Green.


That Red Na For Your pocket.



Because Of Lekki matter Una Change Flag To Green Red Green, people In The North Have Suffered Worse, they Suffered Brutal Massacre But Didnt Do this, people Obigbo Have Suffered Worse But didnt Do This.


If You Like Turn The Whole Flag To Red, the Rest Of The World Dont Give A Fvck, go Solve Your Nation Problem And Stop Playing Victims

donbachi:
From what i just read..if dis govt dey write a love letter to a woman..she no go gree.

those this your statement make sense to you?

Story.........Na today..??

Simple Truth Naija no wan gree....!

Buhari asked Buratai to Organise Soldiers to go and kill a portion of ENDSARS protesters at Lekki so that the rest would give up on the protest. And it worked....!!

Simple.

Liar Mohammed ..what ever comes out of his mouth is nothing but lies, lies and lies..CNN, pls ignore that man, we all know him to be a pathological liar .

I am sure the reply to this letter will not be palatable. If CNN could be so bold to tell Lai that they stand by the words, they may be in possession of a more damning evidence

Truth is always bitter

helinues:


CNN have been causing trouble globally with their reckless journalism

Na this shithole go come treat thier fuckup !

This shithole is biting more than she can chew..

IsaacAdetunji1:
Dear Mr. Hawkins,
Please find attached herewith the non-PDF version of the letter from Nigeria's Hon. Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on the recent 'investigative' report by the CNN on the #EndSARS crisis in Nigeria.

Also attached are links to three videos referenced in the letter

Best regards

Segun Adeyemi
Special Assistant to the President (Media)
Office of the Minister of Information and Culture
Abuja, Nigeria




LETTER


23 Nov. 2020

Mr. Jonathan Hawkins
VP, Communications
CNN Centre
Atlanta, Georgia
U.S,

RE: HOW A BLOODY NIGHT OF BULLETS QUASHED A YOUNG PROTEST MOVEMENT

Our attention has been drawn to an 'investigation' by CNN, entitled '

No be only ENTITLED na entitlement.

Na these kind people dey draft official letters on behalf of a sovereign nation.

Idiots.

CNN go just dey laugh.

CNN now is the time to surprise the world by bringing out your own "investigate" report.

The first one is not your own.

The harm has been done already, but I know the truth about this matter will surely come out one day, most likely after this lieing administration has run out its tenure.

The deepest part of hell fire is meant for the federal government, all politicians, the Nigerian army and the useless bmc miscreants...They can never tell the truth no matter what....Shameless animals.

Jack005:
The deepest part of hell fire is meant for the federal government, all politicians, the Nigerian army and the useless bmc miscreants...They can never tell the truth no matter what....Shameless animals.

Especially d bmc truants. See dem all over ds thread.
E no go better for them!

D hottest part of hell fire...reserved for them.

Waiting patiently for CNN version that will be more revealing and humiliating to d blood sucking FG

Anything CNN put their camera in is FAKE NEWS

Jack005:
The deepest part of hell fire is meant for the federal government, all politicians, the Nigerian army and the useless bmc miscreants...They can never tell the truth no matter what....Shameless animals.

What of liars like you that spread fake news to tarnish Nigeria Image, which part of hell fire will you be at?

U deserve a 3D slap! Moronic slave. Ur gullibility is second to none.

Can't just read btw the line that this letter is damage control, trying to put up a defense before any int'l sanction after CNN damning evidence against the govt.

What many of u don't understand is, govt officials are fighting tooth and nails in order to defend Buhari. It's clearly a case of crime against humanity to preside over a govt that have solders killing unarmed civilians is punishable offense at ICC.

helinues:
Good... Let's see how it would go.

CNN have been causing trouble globally with their reckless journalism.

From 30+ dead to 1

I thought they said they will sanction CNN....why writing them a letter again?

clueless government!

Alh. Lai Muhammed has lost all honorable respect as a result of his irresponsible latest work.

Are u kidding me, does Lai Muhammed thinks if this matter drag unnecessarily Nigerians won't side with CNN and testify against govt? He shouldn't drag his luck too far.

He has thrown decorum overboard. A true omoluabi won't even accept this job in the first place.

Yenefer:
George soros and co. sponsoring the protest. Example the feminine movement and jack dorsey are both satanist, so is cardi b, beyonce and Rihanna. Who are co sponsors. I always shake my head, whenever i see good people amongst the protest. Why will someone follow Yahoo boys to protest. When they got exposed they start rioting, looting and burning. They want to bring lawlessness to Nigeria in the name of peaceful protest. The constitution most not be violated.
God bless Nigerian Army

this is the mumu comment i was telling people yesterday

obehi247:
I don't know why I think this letter is interesting stupid...

I

Liar Muhammed, Buratai, buhari, Sanwo olu, all of them are now afraid of ICC hammer, you people think that you are dealing with AIT, CHANNELS, and ARISE TV.

International community, CNN, ICC we Nigerian youth appreciate you people o.

We are just getting STARTED

Have you guys noticed that BMC SLAVES are wailing more than usual these days