By Princely Onyenwe, Imo
A coalition of Nigerian Youth Groups comprising of Nigerian Students’ Parliament (NSP), Progressive Nigerian Youths Alliance, Niger Delta Youth Council and Nigerian Youth Vanguard (NYV) has faulted the CNN report on the #EndSARS protests.
The spokesperson of the coalition group and National Speaker of the Nigerian Students’ Parliament (NSP); Rt.Hon. Mubarak Aliyu who spoke to pressmen Lagos during an emergency meeting of the youth groups in preparation of the National Youth Confab 2020, described the CNN report as a dramatization of scripts written by enemies of Nigeria, attempting to stir up another round of unrest in the country.
Mubarak said that CNN is expected to unravel the truth that will help in finding lasting solution to the crisis instead of playing the devilish script of fanners of disunity in Nigeria.
He further said that if CNN is interested in unraveling the truth without any iota of bias, it should make its finding available to the Lagos judicial panel instead of using an old doctored videos to misinform the public.
We are Nigerian Youths, Nigeria is our only country and the Nigerian army is our army. We as Progressive coalition youth groups together with other Nigerian civil society organizations of goodwill will continually support the Nigerian Army in thick and in thin to win the war on terror, Mubarak pointed.
He further stated thus:
“the ill fated dramatic investigative report on the EndSARS Protest as midwifed by CNN is substandard to reports known with the CNN for years standing.
CNN cannot talk of massacre without showing us dead bodies to corroborate the narrative. All those who were alleged to have died in the ‘massacre’ of whom some are members of various youths and students groups have come out to debunk it as the figment of the imagination of those who packaged the fake news just to blackmail the Nigerian Army and Federal Government.
We are not saying CNN shouldn’t carry out its lawful duty…all we urge them to do is to ensure the do investigative journalism which must be in tandem with established protocol and convention, not propagating fake news or allowing politically- disgruntled elements to use them in making chaotic reportage against public trust.
We have been following the day to day processes of the EndSars matter, before, during, aftermath and have noted that the Nigerian Army has been vilified by international organizations severally for carrying out its lawful duty within the ambit of the Law despite the transparency of the Chief of Army staff; Lt.General Tukur Yusuf Buratai and his leadership team”.
The CNN report alleging that the Nigerian Army used live bullets on protesters during its intervention in the #EndSARS protests in Lekki, Lagos State is contrary to official position of most international organisation that are investigating the matter and even that of concerned league of Youth groups in Nigeria.
In confirmation of reports from our various chapter coordinators within the major sub-towns in Lagos and Lekki in Particular, the Nigerian Army has denied using live rounds, insisting that its soldiers used blank bullets and shot only into the air, same as we were told by our fellow youths in Lagos.
In few weeks from now, during our forthcoming National Confab, Nigerian Youths will come up with a unifying position on this matter and the way forward. CNN’s report is not just nefarious and shameless, but also clueless”, Mubarak summarized.
Stay tuned to the proposed National youth CONFAB in Abuja.
9News Nigeria (Owerri)
For inquiries on this news contact 9News Nigeria Imo state @ 08036856526
