By BUNMI BUSOLA

Dele Giwa @40: Nigeria Celebrates a Journalism Giant While Justice Remains Elusive

Four Decades Later, a Nation Still Awaits Answers

FORTY years after a parcel bomb killed Dele Giwa, the founding editor-in-chief of Newswatch magazine, Nigeria continues to grapple with two unfinished tasks: preserving the legacy of one of its most influential journalists and securing accountability for his assassination.

On 19 October 1986, the bomb was delivered to Giwa’s residence in Ikeja, Lagos. The attack ended the life of a journalist whose work helped shape investigative reporting in Nigeria. Yet, four decades later, no conclusive resolution has brought the case to a close.

As the anniversary renewed public attention to his life and death, journalists, media leaders, writers and members of Giwa’s family gathered at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Ogba, Lagos, to unveil Dele Giwa’s Granite Journalism. Edited by veteran journalist Ray Ekpu, with a foreword by Yemi Ogunbiyi, the book brings together selected writings by Giwa and contributions examining his work and influence.

At the same time, Media Rights Agenda (MRA) used the anniversary to renew its demand for justice. The organisation urged the Federal Government to implement a court order directing it to investigate Giwa’s assassination and other unresolved killings of journalists, and to prosecute those responsible where the evidence and law warrant it.

The two developments captured the enduring contradiction surrounding Giwa’s legacy. While the media community continues to celebrate his intellectual courage and professional influence, the failure to resolve his killing remains a painful reminder of the dangers journalists face and the consequences of prolonged impunity.

A Book to Preserve the Journalist Behind the Legend

At the book unveiling, Ekpu explained that the publication sought to preserve Giwa’s legacy and bring his journalism to new generations of readers.

“We are not here to mourn the death of Dele, even though his death comes as a predictable mystery. We have done a lot of that, publicly and privately, in the last 40 years,” he said.

Instead, Ekpu explained, the gathering aimed to make Giwa’s work present again through a collection that would immortalise his contributions to journalism.

The volume includes selected articles Giwa wrote for the Daily Times, The Sunday Concord and Newswatch, alongside interviews and reflections on his journalism. Consequently, it offers readers an opportunity to examine the ideas, writing and professional standards that made him a prominent figure in Nigeria’s media history.

The event brought together several influential figures from journalism, publishing, politics and business. Among those present were Sam Amuka, publisher of Vanguard Newspapers, who chaired the occasion; former Ogun State Governor Segun Osoba; former Daily Times managing director Yemi Ogunbiyi; THISDAY chairman and editor-in-chief Nduka Obaigbena; and Biodun Shobanjo, founder of Insight Communications.

Giwa’s widow, Funmi, and daughter, Aisha, also attended, alongside journalists from different generations and media organisations. Their presence linked the public commemoration to the personal loss that has endured within his family.

For Aisha, the legacy her father left behind remains a source of pride. For his former colleagues, however, preserving that legacy involves more than remembering his achievements. It also means confronting the unresolved circumstances of his death and protecting the journalists who continue to pursue difficult stories.

A Journalist Whose Curiosity Crossed Borders

Reflecting on the book, Simon Kolawole, founder of the online newspaper The Cable, described Giwa as a writer driven by intellectual curiosity, a commitment to truth and a strong sense of public responsibility.

According to Kolawole, Giwa’s interests extended well beyond domestic politics. His writing engaged with international affairs, race relations, the Western media, capital and broader questions about human existence.

That range helped distinguish his work. Rather than treating journalism as the routine transmission of information, Giwa approached it as an opportunity to question assumptions, examine power and explain the forces shaping society.

Kolawole also avoided portraying him as a flawless figure. Giwa, he observed, could be combative and critical. Nevertheless, those qualities reflected a journalist who remained deeply engaged with public affairs and refused to become indifferent to the problems around him.

The collection, Kolawole argued, offers lessons in curiosity, courage, clarity, storytelling, discipline and originality. These qualities remain relevant to journalists working in a media environment where public trust depends on accurate reporting, careful investigation and the willingness to challenge powerful interests.

“Forty years after his assassination, the remarkable thing is not simply that Nigerians still remember his book. It is that his writing can still command our attention, challenge our assumptions, and give us considerable reading pleasure,” Kolawole said.

He encouraged journalists, journalism students, historians, writers and other readers to engage with the collection. In doing so, he presented Giwa’s work not merely as an archival record but as a continuing source of professional and intellectual instruction.

The Personal Cost of Violence Against Journalists

Beyond the printed words and public tributes, the assassination left a deep impression on Giwa’s colleagues and their families.

Ekpu recalled his close relationship with Giwa, including the period when their families lived in a duplex in Ikeja. He also recounted how his young son abandoned his ambition to become a journalist after Giwa was killed.

The decision, Ekpu suggested, reflected the fear that violence against media professionals could create among those considering a career in journalism. The risks are not confined to reporters covering protests, riots, elections and wars. They also affect journalists investigating corruption, scrutinising public officials and examining sensitive political questions.

Citing figures from the International Federation of Journalists, Ekpu said 128 journalists and media workers were killed worldwide in 2025. He lamented inadequate protection for media professionals and the failure to secure accountability for attacks against them.

“Whoever said that the pen is mightier than the sword did not have Nigeria in mind,” he said.

His remark expressed frustration with the gap between journalism’s democratic importance and the risks journalists face when they challenge authority.

Nevertheless, the danger does not diminish the profession’s responsibility. Ekpu urged journalists to continue holding those in power accountable, arguing that much remained to be done to build a better Nigeria.

The challenge, therefore, is twofold: journalists must sustain the courage and discipline required to scrutinise power, while public institutions must ensure that those who threaten or attack them face effective investigation and lawful consequences.

MRA Demands Implementation of the Court Order

As the media community commemorated Giwa, Media Rights Agenda called on the Federal Government to move beyond anniversary statements and take concrete steps towards resolving his assassination.

In a statement issued in Lagos on 19 October, MRA described the failure to bring the case to a conclusive resolution after four decades as a troubling illustration of impunity for attacks against journalists.

Its Deputy Executive Director, Ayode Longe, argued that the anniversary should prompt renewed scrutiny of the Government’s and police’s failure to establish accountability.

“Forty years is far too long for the assassination of a journalist of Dele Giwa’s stature to remain unresolved,” Longe said. He warned against reducing the killing to a recurring anniversary marked by tributes and expressions of outrage but without meaningful progress.

MRA pointed to a judgment it secured at the Federal High Court in Abuja on February 16, 2024, in a case against the Attorney-General of the Federation. According to the organisation, the court ordered the Federal Government to investigate Giwa’s murder and other unresolved killings of journalists and to ensure that perpetrators were prosecuted.

MRA said the Government had not demonstrated concrete progress towards implementing the order. It therefore called on the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Nigeria Police Force and other relevant authorities to explain what steps they had taken, the status of the investigations and their plans for pursuing prosecution where evidence supports it.

The demand places the issue beyond the realm of historical remembrance. It raises a question about the implementation of judicial decisions and the extent to which the State fulfils its responsibility to investigate unlawful killings.

Reopening an Old Case Requires Evidence & Resolve

Longe maintained that the passage of time does not extinguish the State’s responsibility to pursue accountability for an unlawful killing.

He urged investigators to review historical case files systematically, reassess witness accounts and documentary evidence, and examine any other material that could help establish the circumstances of the assassination.

Where appropriate and feasible, he also called for the use of modern forensic and investigative techniques. Such methods may assist investigators in reassessing evidence, although their usefulness will depend on the material available and its condition.

A credible investigation must establish what happened, identify those responsible where the evidence permits and determine whether prosecution is legally justified. It must also distinguish verifiable findings from speculation, particularly in a case that has generated intense public debate for decades.

Giwa’s assassination has widely been linked in public discourse to the military regime of then Head of State Ibrahim Babangida. However, Babangida has consistently denied complicity in the killing, and responsibility must not be presented as established without conclusive evidence and lawful findings.

The late legal icon Gani Fawehinmi championed the demand for justice for Giwa until his death in September 2009. His efforts form part of a long history of public advocacy over a case that remains unresolved.

For MRA, the absence of accountability carries consequences beyond Giwa and his family. When a prominent journalist’s killing remains unresolved, other journalists may conclude that violence against them can occur without meaningful consequences.

That perception can weaken press freedom by encouraging fear, self-censorship and reluctance to investigate powerful interests.

A Legacy That Demands More Than Commemoration

Giwa co-founded Newswatch in 1985 with Ekpu, Yakubu Mohammed and Dan Agbese. As editor-in-chief, he helped shape a magazine that became associated with the growth of investigative journalism in Nigeria.

His legacy rests partly on the importance of asking difficult questions, pursuing evidence and providing citizens with information needed to participate in public life. Those principles remain essential to a functioning democracy.

Yet commemorating his work while leaving his assassination unresolved exposes a troubling gap between celebrating journalistic courage and protecting journalists in practice.

MRA has called for stronger mechanisms to guarantee journalists’ safety, more effective responses to threats and attacks, and a clear institutional commitment to ending impunity for crimes against media professionals.

Such measures require more than statements of support. They demand effective investigations, transparent communication, appropriate protection for journalists facing credible threats and accountability when offences are established.

The unveiling of Dele Giwa’s Granite Journalism gives readers an opportunity to revisit his work and consider its continuing relevance. However, the book’s contribution will be greater if its lessons also encourage stronger professional standards and a more determined defence of press freedom.

Forty years after the parcel bomb at his Ikeja residence, Giwa remains a figure through whom Nigerians can examine the relationship between journalism, power and accountability. His writing continues to command attention, while his assassination continues to demand answers.

The most meaningful tribute, therefore, must unite remembrance with action: preserve his journalism, defend the right to investigate public affairs and pursue a credible resolution of his killing. Until the authorities demonstrate concrete progress towards justice, the story of Dele Giwa will remain both a celebration of journalistic courage and an unfinished test of Nigeria’s commitment to accountability.