This is informed by the unanswered questions surrounding the murder of the 39-year-old journalist through a parcel bomb in his home in Lagos.
In a statement by Press Freedom Officer, IPC-SPJ Hub, Melody Akinjiyan on Monday, the Executive Director of IPC, Lanre Arogundade noted that the failure to unravel Dele Giwa’s killer since 19 October 1986 is an indictment of the country’s commitment to justice, accountability and the protection of journalists.
Arogundade, who described Giwa’s assassination as not merely a personal tragedy for his family, colleagues and friends, said it was an attack on the fundamental principle that journalists must be able to investigate, question authority and report in the public interest without fear of violence or intimidation.
He, therefore, called on the Nigeria Police Force and other relevant security agencies to reopen the case, as well as other similar unresolved murder cases involving journalists in the country, and conduct independent investigations.
The statement reads in part: ‘Dele Giwa was more than a journalist. He was the Sunday Editor of National Concord and founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch Magazine, whose commitment to investigative reporting helped reshape Nigerian journalism.
‘Through his work, he championed the public’s right to know and demonstrated the essential role of a free press in holding power accountable.
‘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.
‘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?’
IPC SPJ listed several journalists who were murdered between 2009 and 2021, urging the police to ‘reopen and pursue a credible, independent investigation into Dele Giwa’s assassination and many other journalists who have been murdered, building on available evidence, historical records and previous investigative findings’.
The journalists listed as having been murdered in the country include Bayo Ohu of The Guardian, on 20 September 2009; Nathan S. Dabak and Sunday Gyang Bwede of The Light Bearer, on 24 April 2010; Zakariya Isa of the Nigeria Television Authority, on 22 October 2011; Enenche Akogwu of Channels Television, on 20 January 2012; Maxwell Nashan of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, on 15 January 2020; Alex Ogbu of The Regent Africa Time Magazine, on 21 January 2020; Emmanuel Adeyemi of The Sun, on 26 October 2020; Titus Badejo of Naija FM, on 19 June 2021; and Tordue Salem of Vanguard, on 11 November 2021.
Another demand by the IPC was to ‘honour Dele Giwa’s legacy and strengthen protection for journalists, recognising that press freedom is indispensable to transparency, democratic accountability and the protection of citizens’ rights’.
Arogundade said: ‘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. Journalists deserve to know that the profession they serve is protected by the rule of law.
‘A country cannot credibly celebrate press freedom while leaving one of its most notorious attacks on a journalist unresolved for four decades’.
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