EndSARS protest is responsible for insecurity in the country “ – Lai Mohammad

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has blamed fake news, social media and unbalanced coverage of the recent #EndSARS protests for the cause of insecurity in the country.

He stated that the mainstream media during the protest, abandoned reportage of the protests to the social media, which caused lots of sensationalism twist in the reports there by causing the country avoidable trouble.

The Minster lamented the killing of security operatives during the protest. He also stated that the protest was poorly reported.

“Now, this is hunting all of us. Wittingly or unwittingly, we have succeeded in scaring policemen off their beats. Today, many of them are even afraid to wear their uniform. And the result has not been pleasant, in terms of security of life and property.” He said.

Speaking at the meeting with newspaper editors in Lagos, Mohammed said that the government initially met the five demands of the EndSARS protesters and are taken measures to improve the police salary and wages but that the protesters later enlarged their demands.

“Despite meeting the five demands, the protesters continued with their protests while their demands kept expanding, until the protest was hijacked, leading to unprecedented violence characterized by killings, maiming, arson, looting etc.” Lai said.

The meeting is part of engagements with stakeholders following the #EndSARS crisis, to review what happened during the protest, the subsequent crisis, and draw necessary lessons from the protests.