…Urges FG, police to reopen investigation into journalist’s killing, cites nine other unresolved cases
By David Akinadewo-Adekahunsi
The International Press Centre (IPC) has called on the Federal Government, the Nigeria Police Force and relevant investigative and prosecutorial authorities to reopen investigations into the assassination of Mr Dele Giwa, founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch magazine, 40 years after his death.
Giwa was killed at his Lagos residence on October 19, 1986, by a parcel bomb at the age of 39.
Four decades later, no one has been held criminally accountable for his murder, leaving questions surrounding the killing unresolved.
The Safety and Protection of Journalists (SPJ) Hub of the IPC made the call in a statement issued on Monday, to mark the 40th anniversary of the journalist’s assassination.
In the statement signed by Melody Akinjiyan, Program Officer, IPC, Lagos, Nigeria, the organisation described the continued absence of justice as a serious indictment of Nigeria’s commitment to accountability, the rule of law and the protection of journalists.
Giwa was the Sunday Editor of National Concord before becoming the founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch.
Through his commitment to investigative journalism, he helped shape the Nigerian media landscape, championing the public’s right to know and the role of a free press in holding those in power accountable.
The Executive Director of IPC, Mr Lanre Arogundade, said Giwa’s assassination was not merely a personal tragedy for his family, colleagues and friends, but also an attack on the fundamental principle that journalists must be able to investigate, question authority and report in the public interest without fear of violence or intimidation.
“Forty years without justice is far too long. Silence cannot substitute for accountability, and the passage of time must not become an excuse for abandoning the pursuit of truth,” Arogundade said.
He warned that the failure to bring the case to a credible conclusion continued to raise troubling questions about Nigeria’s democratic and human rights record.
According to him, the unresolved killing poses a fundamental question about whether the murder of a journalist can remain without resolution indefinitely without undermining public confidence in the institutions responsible for upholding the law.
The IPC-SPJ Hub called for a credible and independent investigation into Giwa’s assassination, as well as other unresolved killings of journalists in the country, drawing on available evidence, historical records and previous investigative findings.
Among the cases highlighted by the organisation were the killing of Bayo Ohu of The Guardian on September 20, 2009; Nathan S. Dabak and Sunday Gyang Bwede of The Light Bearer on April 24, 2010; and Zakariya Isa of the Nigerian Television Authority on October 22, 2011.
The list also included Enenche Akogwu of Channels Television, killed on January 20, 2012; Maxwell Nashan of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, killed on January 15, 2020; and Alex Ogbu of The Regent Africa Times Magazine, killed on January 21, 2020.
Others were Emmanuel Adeyemi of The Sun newspaper, killed on October 26, 2020; Titus Badejo of Naija FM, killed on June 19, 2021; and Tordue Salem of Vanguard newspaper, whose death was recorded on November 11, 2021.
Beyond investigations and prosecutions, the organisation urged the government to honour Giwa’s legacy by strengthening measures to protect journalists, noting that press freedom remained indispensable to transparency, democratic accountability and the protection of citizens’ rights.
It cautioned against reducing the anniversary to annual speeches and tributes, insisting that Giwa’s legacy demanded concrete action to ensure that journalists could carry out their professional duties without fear.
“Journalists deserve to know that the profession they serve is protected by the rule of law,” the statement said.
The centre added that Nigeria could not credibly celebrate press freedom while leaving one of the country’s most notorious attacks on a journalist unresolved for four decades.
