Nigerians on Sunday nineteenth October remembered the late Dele Giwa, a famend journalist and founding father of Newswatch journal, 39 years after his assassination by a parcel bomb at his Lagos house in 1986 — a homicide that is still unresolved.
Giwa, who was the editor-in-chief of Newswatch, was killed on October 19, 1986, after receiving a package deal that exploded in his fingers. His demise shocked the nation and drew worldwide outrage, highlighting the dangers confronted by journalists in Nigeria in the course of the navy period.
Born on March 16, 1947, Giwa was identified for his fearless investigative stories and powerful criticism of corruption and abuse of energy. He studied English and Communication Arts at Brooklyn Faculty in New York, the place he earned each Bachelor’s and Grasp’s levels earlier than returning to Nigeria in 1976 after working briefly with The New York Instances.
Earlier than his demise, Giwa had been invited for questioning by the State Safety Service (SSS) and the Directorate of Navy Intelligence (DMI) over allegations linking him to a socialist revolution and arms importation. His final revealed article had criticised the federal government’s Second-Tier Overseas Trade Market (SFEM) coverage, warning that if it failed, Nigerians would possibly “stone their leaders within the streets.”
Two days earlier than his demise, Giwa was questioned by SSS officers. A day earlier than the assassination, a senior DMI officer, Halilu Akilu, reportedly referred to as Giwa’s residence asking for instructions to his house. On the morning of October 19, Giwa acquired a parcel shortly after a phone dialog with Akilu, who had assured him that the sooner matter had been resolved.
Moments later, the package deal exploded in Giwa’s fingers, fatally injuring him. He was rushed to the hospital however died shortly after. His colleague, Kayode Soyinka, Newswatch’s London bureau chief, narrowly escaped the blast.
Though numerous people, together with former navy officers, have been talked about through the years, nobody has ever been prosecuted for the killing.
Practically 4 a long time later, Giwa’s assassination stays one in all Nigeria’s most haunting media tragedies.
For a lot of within the journalism neighborhood, his life and demise symbolize braveness, integrity, and the enduring battle for press freedom within the nation.
The submit 39 Years On: Who Killed Dele Giwa, The Journalist Who Dared the Navy? appeared first on Kano Instances.
