Nigerian officials insist soldiers did not shoot Lekki protesters

Nigerian authorities still insist that soldiers were not responsible for the shooting of protesters on October 20 at the Lekki Toll gate.

Minister for Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed told the media in Abuja on Thursday that the military only shot blank ammunitions in the air.

"We insist that the military did not shoot at protesters at the Lekki Toll gate. They fired blank ammunitions in the air. Again, anyone who knows anyone who was killed at the Lekki toll gate should head to the judicial panel with conclusive evidence of such", he said.

This comes after CNN released an investigative report on the incident stating that Nigerian military forces fired directly at the peaceful protestors, allegedly killing many.

Lekki toll gate was the epicenter of protests on October 8 following police brutality and poor governance in Africa’s most populous nation.

12 people were reportedly killed by soldiers. The government has denied this and described the report as ‘’fake news’’.