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HomeNewsCourt Orders Dele Giwa's Murder Case Re-Opened 38 Years Later

Court Orders Dele Giwa’s Murder Case Re-Opened 38 Years Later

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Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court Abuja has ordered the re-opening of the investigation and prosecution of murderers of the Co-Founder of Newswatch Magazine, Dele Giwa, in 1986.

Delivering judgment, Justice Ekwo held the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice was under obligation to prosecute and penalize killers of media practitioners in the country.

The ace journalist Dele Giwa was murdered on October 19, 1986, in his Lagos office through a letter bomb.

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Apart from Dele Giwa, the court ordered that the killings of other journalists in the discharge of their lawful duties must be investigated and perpetrators brought to book in line with the provisions of the law.

Justice Ekwo also ordered the Federal Government to ensure adequate protection and safety of the lives of journalists as enshrined in sections 33, 39 of the Constitution and Articles 4 and 9 of the African Charters on Human and Peoples Rights

The Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda, MRA, had sued the AGF before the court for the enforcement of fundamental rights of media practitioners to safety as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution and African Charters on Human Rights.

Dele Giwa (16 March 1947 – 19 October 1986) was a Nigerian journalist, editor and founder of Newswatch magazine.

Dele Giwa travelled to the USA for his higher education, earning a BA in English from Brooklyn College in 1977 and enrolled for a Graduate program at Fordham University.

He worked for The New York Times as a news assistant for four years after which he relocated to Nigeria to work with Daily Times.

Dele Giwa and fellow journalists Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese and Yakubu Mohammed founded Newswatch in 1984, and the first edition was distributed on 28 January 1985.

Dele Giwa married an American nurse in 1974.

His second marriage, to Florence Ita Giwa, lasted 10 months.

He later married Olufunmilayo Olaniyan on 10 July 1984, and they were married until his death in 1986.

He was killed by a parcel bomb in his home at Ikeja, Lagos, while in his study with Kayode Soyinka, on Sunday 19 October 1986.

The assassination occurred two days after he had been interviewed by State Security Service (SSS) officials.

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