The President, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), says he is disgusted with the coverage of EndSARS protests by international media outlets, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and America’s Cable News Network (CNN).
As gathered by Eko Hot Blog, President Buhari said this at a meeting with state governors at the presidential villa in Abuja on Tuesday.
Recall that Nigerian youths in October had taken to the streets to demand an end to police brutality, staging peaceful demonstrations across major cities in the country to demand for the disbandment of the rogue Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
SARS, which was dissolved days into the protest, was notorious for extra-judicial killings, harassment and excessive use of force.
The protest gained global currency with concerned individuals all over the world lending voice in solidarity to call for an end to police brutality in Nigeria.
The largely peaceful protest was subsequently hijacked by hoodlums who hid under the demonstrations to create public anarchy via such acts as looting and arson.
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The demonstrations, however, came to an abrupt end following the shooting of a yet to be identified number of peaceful protesters at the Toll Booth in Lekki, one of the nerve centres of the protests.
This generated national and international outrage, galvanizing the army and the Lagos State government to cook up incongruous reports regarding what went down at the toll plaza.
However, a special report by CNN revealed that soldiers shot at protesters, killing many. The investigation uncovered the bullets used as a 2015 brand from Serbia, thus refuting the claims from the army who denied using live ammunition.
Reacting, the Nigerian government condemned the CNN report as fallacious and irresponsible.
Meanwhile, in his first public comment on the coverage of the protests, the president said the foreign media coverage was not balanced.
He slammed the international media outlets for not highlighting the killings of security operatives and attacks on police stations.
“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. (They said we are all at fault. We don’t have the sympathy of anyone. We are on our own),” he was quoted as saying by his spokesman, Garba Shehu.
President Buhari further warned that the government would no longer tolerate violent demonstrations in Nigeria, adding: “democracy does not mean confusion or lack of accountability.”
“We do not stop anyone from demonstrating, but you don’t set up roadblocks and smash windscreens. Which government will allow that?’’ Buhari said.
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