FG Petitions CNN Over Its Report On The #LekkiShootings

Lai Mohammed
The Federal Government of Nigeria has petitioned the US-based Cable News Network over its recently released independent investigation of the shootings of peaceful protesters at the Lekki Tollgate, the FG claimed that the “CNN breached the most basic of the core principles of journalism – balance and fairness.” Lai Mohammed FG Petitions the CNN

The Federal Government has demanded “an immediate and exhaustive investigation from CNN into its investigative report of the Lekki Toll Gate incidence so as to determine, among others, its authenticity.
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The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said in his letter directed to Jonathan Hawkins, VP (Communications) the CNN headquarters Atlanta, Georgia.Lai Mohammed

The letter which was dated November 23, 2020, titled ‘Re: How a bloody night of bullets quashed a young protest movement’,

The letter reads,
“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."It's A Lie", Lai Mohammed's Spokesman Debunks Journalist's Arrest Order
“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.
“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.”

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