Dele Giwa: IPC Demands Justice 40 Years After Bomb Assassination

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... Group seeks reopening of probe, lists nine other murdered journalists whose killings remain unresolved



The International Press Centre (IPC) has demanded answers, accountability and justice for the assassination of Dele Giwa, founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch magazine, 40 years after he was killed by a parcel bomb at his Lagos home.

The organisation lamented that no one had been held criminally accountable for Giwa’s murder on October 19, 1986, describing the unresolved case as an indictment of Nigeria’s commitment to justice and the protection of journalists.

In a statement issued and signed by its Press Freedom Officer, Melody Akinjiyan on Monday to mark the 40th anniversary of the killing, the Safety and Protection of Journalists (SPJ) Hub of the IPC called on the Federal Government, the Nigeria Police Force and relevant investigative and prosecutorial authorities to reopen the investigation and pursue a credible resolution.

Giwa, who was 39 at the time of his death, was a prominent journalist whose investigative reporting helped shape Nigerian journalism. He was also the Sunday Editor of National Concord before co-founding Newswatch, through which he championed the public’s right to know and the media’s responsibility to hold those in power accountable.

The Executive Director of IPC, Lanre Arogundade, said Giwa’s assassination was not merely a personal tragedy for his family, colleagues and friends but an attack on the fundamental right of journalists 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 raised serious questions about Nigeria’s democratic and human rights record, particularly the capacity of institutions responsible for enforcing the law to deliver justice when journalists are attacked.

The IPC said the government and relevant authorities must build on available evidence, historical records and previous investigative findings to pursue a credible, independent investigation into Giwa’s assassination and other unresolved killings of journalists.

The organisation identified nine other journalists whose murders, it said, remained unresolved, highlighting what it described as the continuing need for accountability for attacks against media professionals.

They include Bayo Ohu of The Guardian, killed on September 20, 2009; Nathan S. Dabak and Sunday Gyang Bwede of The Light Bearer, killed on April 24, 2010; and Zakariya Isa of the Nigerian Television Authority, killed on October 22, 2011.

Others are Enenche Akogwu of Channels Television, killed on January 20, 2012; Maxwell Nashan of the Federal Radio Corporation, killed on January 15, 2020; Alex Ogbu of The Regent Africa Time Magazine, killed on January 21, 2020; and Emmanuel Adeyemi of The Sun, killed on October 26, 2020.

The list also includes Titus Badejo of Naija FM, killed on June 19, 2021, and Tordue Salem of Vanguard, whose death was recorded by the organisation as November 11, 2021.

Beyond reopening the investigations, the IPC called for stronger measures to protect journalists, stressing that press freedom remains essential to transparency, democratic accountability and the protection of citizens’ rights.

The organisation urged Nigerians and the authorities not to reduce the anniversary of Giwa’s death to speeches and tributes, insisting that his legacy must inspire concrete action to ensure journalists can work without fear of violence or intimidation.

“Journalists deserve to know that the profession they serve is protected by the rule of law,” the statement said.

It 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.

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