Human Rights
40 Years After Dele Giwa’s Murder, IPC Demands Reopening of Investigation
By Joseph Sunday
The Safety and Protection of Journalists (SPJ) Hub of the International Press Centre (IPC) has demanded the reopening of investigation into the parcel-bomb murder of Dele Giwa, founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch Magazine, 40 years after his assassination.
In a press statement signed by its Press Freedom Officer, Melody Akinjiyan, and released on Sunday, October 19, 2026, to mark the 40th anniversary of the murder, the IPC said the continued failure to resolve the case is an indictment of Nigeria’s commitment to justice and press freedom.
Dele Giwa, 39, was killed at his residence in Lagos on October 19, 1986, when a parcel bomb was delivered to him. Four decades after, no one has been held criminally accountable.
The Centre noted that Giwa, who was Sunday Editor of National Concord before founding Newswatch, reshaped Nigerian investigative journalism and championed the public’s right to know.
Reacting, the Executive Director of IPC, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, said Giwa’s assassination was not just a personal tragedy but an attack on the fundamental principle that journalists must be able to investigate and question authority without fear.
“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.
“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?” he added.
The IPC-SPJ Hub therefore called on the Federal Government, the Nigeria Police Force and all relevant investigative and prosecutorial authorities to reopen and pursue a credible, independent investigation into Giwa’s murder and other unresolved killings of journalists in the country.
It listed other unresolved cases to include Bayo Ohu of The Guardian (September 20, 2009), Nathan S. Dabak & Sunday Gyang Bwede of The Light Bearer (April 24, 2010), Zakariya Isa of NTA (October 22, 2011), Enenche Akogwu of Channels TV (January 20, 2012), Maxwell Nashan of FRCN (January 15, 2020), Alex Ogbu of The Regent Africa Times (January 21, 2020), Emmanuel Adeyemi of Sun Newspaper (October 26, 2020), Titus Badejo of Naija FM (June 19, 2021) and Tordue Salem of Vanguard (November 11, 2021).
The Centre also urged the government to honour Giwa’s legacy by strengthening protection for journalists.
“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,” the statement said.
“A country cannot credibly celebrate press freedom while leaving one of its most notorious attacks on a journalist unresolved for four decades,” it added.
