Former Nigeria military President, retired General Ibrahim Babangida has made it clear that he had no hand in the murder of the Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch magazine, Dele Giwa. He was assassinated via a parcel bomb in his home in Ikeja, Lagos State on October 19, 1986.
In his autobiography: “A Journey in Service,” which was presented in Abuja yesterday, February 20, Babangida said that he expected that one day, the truth would be uncovered.
“The hysteria of the media did not help the investigation of the Giwa murder. As is typical of the Nigerian media, the direction was marked by an adversarial attitude towards the government, which had remained the hallmark of the Nigerian media from its colonial heyday.
“It was an attitude of ‘we versus the government’ that has remained today. It is a situation in which the government is adjudged guilty even before the evidence in a case is adduced.
“When the Obasanjo civilian administration reopened the Giwa case at the Oputa Panel on Human and Civil Rights, I expected that the police and lawyers would come forward with new evidence as to their findings on the Giwa murder over the years.
“Nothing of such happened. The Giwa, like all mysterious murders, has remained unsolved after so many years.
“I keep hoping it will be uncovered in our lifetime or after us. More often than not, mysterious crimes are solved long after their commission.”
It would be recalled that two days before he was bombed to death, a senior official of the Directorate of Military Intelligence, had accused Giwa of illegally importing and stockpiling arms and ammunition to stage a socialist revolution in Nigeria.
Alarmed at the charge, Giwa quickly briefed his lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi, and the following day, a security chief, Colonel Halilu Akilu, called to reassure Giwa that the accusation had resulted from a misunderstanding. He assured Dele Giwa that the matter had been cleared, and that he should think nothing of it.
According to Ray Ekpu, Giwa’s colleague at Newswatch, a few hours later, a government emissary arrived at Giwa’s Ikeja residence.
His son, Billy, collected the parcel and handed it to his father, who was seated at the dining table in the company of Kayode Soyinka, the London correspondent of Newswatch, who was visiting from the UK. The envelope bore the seal of the Presidency and was marked “To be opened by addressee only.”
Just as he opened the parcel, ear-shattering explosion followed, killing the journalist instantly.
