The International Press Centre (IPC) has called for answers, accountability and justice, 40 years after the assassination of Dele Giwa, founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch Magazine.
Giwa was killed on October 19, 1986, at his Lagos residence by a parcel bomb at the age of 39. No one has been held criminally accountable for his murder.
In a statement marking the anniversary, IPC Executive Director, Lanre Arogundade, described the assassination as an attack on press freedom and journalists’ right to investigate and report in the public interest without fear or intimidation.
Arogundade said four decades without justice was unacceptable, stressing that the passage of time must not become an excuse for abandoning the pursuit of truth.
The IPC’s Safety and Protection of Journalists Hub called on the Federal Government, the Nigeria Police Force and relevant investigative and prosecutorial authorities to reopen and pursue a credible, independent investigation into Giwa’s murder.
It also demanded renewed investigations into other unresolved killings of journalists, including those of Bayo Ohu of The Guardian, Zakariya Isa of the Nigerian Television Authority, Enenche Akogwu of Channels Television and Tordue Salem of Vanguard.
The organisation urged the government to honour Giwa’s legacy by strengthening the protection of journalists, noting that press freedom remains essential to transparency, democratic accountability and the protection of citizens’ rights.
It warned that Nigeria could not credibly celebrate press freedom while leaving one of its most notorious attacks on a journalist unresolved for four decades
