#EndSARS: Following Backlash, CNN Clarifies Lekki Shooting Death Toll, Says Figures Were For Protests Across the Country

Following accusations of peddling a false narrative by the Nigerian government, CNN has clarified an initial report which said operatives of the Nigerian Army killed 38 on October 20.

In a tweet dated October 23 – three days after the shooting, the international broadcaster wrote that “at least 38 people were killed in Nigeria on Tuesday when the military opened fire on peaceful protesters.”

On Thursday, November 26, however, CNN said in a follow up tweet that its initial tweet from October 23 “did not make it clear that the death toll was for protests across the country” and wrote that the “tweet from October 23 did not attribute the death toll from protests in Nigeria to Amnesty International.”

CNN’s clarification comes amid backlash from the Nigerian government following its recent investigation into the Lekki shooting which established that one person reportedly died on the night of the incident.

The Nigerian government has called on the broadcaster to carry out an “immediate investigation” into its investigative report and chastised the news organization for its changing death toll figures as well as relying on “unverified and manipulated footages it harvested from social media” in its report.

Rita Osakwe

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