President Buhari blasts CNN, says their coverage of #EndSARS protest was disgusting

 

President Muhammadu Buhari says he was left disgusted with the coverage of the #EndSARS protests by foreign media organisations, including the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and America’s Cable News Network (CNN).

The #EndSARS protesters called for a scrapping of the notorious police unit, SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad), widespread police reforms and for an end to decades of police brutality and human rights abuses by law enforcement.

The protests were staged nationwide and in the diaspora in the early days of October, and were suppressed in Nigeria by armed soldiers and police officers who shot into a crowd of peaceful protesters at the Lekki toll gate on October 20, 2020.

Nigerian authorities claim there was no massacre on the night as was widely reported in the social media orbit.

Hoodlums took advantage of the break down in law and order in the wake of the protests and shootings to burn public and private poverty and loot warehouses.

On November 19, 2020, CNN published its special report on the Lekki shooting with the title: "How a bloody night of bullets and brutality quashed a young protest movement."

'Blatantly irresponsible'

Nigeria's Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, immediately denounced CNN's report as fake news and threatened that the media outfit would be sanctioned.

Mohammed also dismissed CNN's reporting as "blatantly irresponsible and a poor piece of journalistic work by a reputable international news organization. This is very serious."

In his first public remarks on the coverage of the protests, the president told state governors during a meeting at the State House, Abuja on Tuesday, December 8, that the CNN report on the protest left him amply nauseous and disgusted.

I was disgusted by the coverage, which did not give attention to the policemen that were killed, the stations that were burnt, and the prisons that were opened. They said we are all at fault. We don’t have the sympathy of anyone. We are on our own,” President Buhari was quoted as saying by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu.

The president reiterated that his administration will no longer tolerate violent demonstrations in Nigeria, adding that “democracy does not mean confusion or lack of accountability.”

On the destruction of private and public property, Buhari said no responsible government will allow a repeat of that level of carnage and arson.

We do not stop anyone from demonstrating, but you don’t set up roadblocks and smashing windscreens. Which government will allow that?", Buhari fumed.

In a tweet, Buhari shared the following: "It must be said that foreign press coverage of the ENDSARS violence was not balanced, especially from CNN and BBC. I was disgusted by the coverage, which did not give attention to the policemen that were killed, the stations that were burnt, and prisons that were opened."