The Safety and Protection of Journalists (SPJ) Hub of the International Press Centre (IPC) is demanding answers, accountability and justice, forty years after the brutal assassination of Dele Giwa, founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch Magazine.
On 19 October 1986, Dele Giwa was killed at his home in Lagos by a parcel bomb. He was 39 years old. Four decades later, the questions surrounding his murder remain unanswered, and no one has been held criminally accountable for his death. This enduring failure is an indictment of the country’s commitment to justice, accountability and the protection of journalists.
Dele Giwa was more than a journalist. He was the Sunday Editor of National Concord and founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch Magazine whose commitment to investigative reporting helped reshape Nigerian journalism. Through his work, he championed the public’s right to know and demonstrated the essential role of a free press in holding power accountable.
The Executive Director of IPC, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, in a statement, described Giwa’s assassination as merely not only a personal tragedy for his family, colleagues and friends. “It was 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.”
Mr. Arogundade further stated that, “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.”
“The failure to bring this case to a credible conclusion has left a painful question hanging over Nigeria’s democratic and human rights record: can the killing of a journalist remain unresolved indefinitely without undermining public confidence in the institutions responsible for upholding the law? Mr. Arogundade noted.”
IPC-SPJ Hub is therefore calling on the Federal Government, the Nigeria Police Force and all relevant investigative and prosecutorial authorities to:
1. Reopen and pursue a credible, independent investigation into Dele Giwa’s assassination and many other journalists who have been murdered, building on available evidence, historical records and previous investigative findings.
Some of the other unresolved murdered cases include:
Bayo Ohu of The Guardian Newspaper – September 20,2009
Nathan S. Dabak & Sunday Gyang Bwede of The Light Bearer – April 24, 2010
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Zakariya Isa of Nigeria Television Authority – October 22, 2011
Enenche Akogwu of Channels Television – January 20, 2012
Maxwell Nashan of Federal Radio Corporation – January 15, 2020
Alex Ogbu of The Regent Africa Time Magazine – January 21, 2020
Emmanuel Adeyemi of Sun Newspaper – October 26, 2020
Titus Badejo of Naija FM – June 19, 2021
Tordue Salem of Vanguard Newspaper – November 11,
2021
1. Honor Dele Giwa’s legacy and strengthen protection for journalists, recognising that press freedom is indispensable to transparency, democratic accountability and the protection of citizens’ rights.
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As we commemorate the 40th anniversary of Dele Giwa’s death, we must resist the temptation to reduce him to an annual remembrance marked by speeches and tributes. His legacy demands action. Journalists deserve to know that the profession they serve is protected by the rule of law.
A country cannot credibly celebrate press freedom while leaving one of its most notorious attacks on a journalist unresolved for four decades.