IBB denies involvement in Dele Giwa’s assassination, claims truth will prevail

The controversy surrounding the assassination of Nigeria’s ace journalist, Dele Giwa, continues to haunt former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida (retd.), as he once again denies any involvement in the tragic incident.

Babangida has insisted that he is innocent of the allegations and maintains that the truth will eventually be revealed.

Babangida categorically stated, “I have no idea of a parcel bomb bearing any Presidential Seal handed to the former Newswatch magazine’s Editor-in-Chief in his home in Ikeja, Lagos State.”

An insider from his circle in Minna, who spoke under anonymity, reiterated that the former military leader remains resolute in distancing himself from the murder.

Dele Giwa, a vocal critic of Babangida’s military regime, was assassinated on October 19, 1986, via a parcel bomb delivered to his home in Ikeja, Lagos. The circumstances of his murder remain shrouded in mystery, with many believing the government was complicit in his death.

Two days before the incident, a senior official of the Directorate of Military Intelligence accused Giwa of illegally importing and stockpiling arms to stage a socialist revolution in Nigeria.

Alarmed by the charge, Giwa immediately contacted his lawyer, the renowned human rights advocate Gani Fawehinmi.

According to Ray Ekpu, Giwa’s colleague at Newswatch, a security chief, Colonel Halilu Akilu, later reassured Giwa that the accusation had been resolved and that there was nothing to worry about.

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However, shortly afterward, a government emissary arrived at Giwa’s Ikeja residence. Giwa’s son, Billy, collected a parcel addressed to his father, who was dining with Newswatch’s London correspondent, Kayode Soyinka. The envelope bore the seal of the Presidency and was marked ‘To be opened by addressee only.’ Moments later, the parcel exploded, killing Giwa instantly and leaving Soyinka injured.

In his recently launched autobiography, ‘A Journey in Service,’ Babangida expressed his frustrations over the longstanding allegations against him.

He asserted that media bias and sensationalism derailed investigations into Giwa’s murder, reinforcing a hostile narrative against his administration.

“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,” Babangida wrote.

He further argued that when the Obasanjo civilian administration reopened the case through the Oputa Panel on Human and Civil Rights, no new evidence was brought forward.

“When the panel was set up, 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. Like all mysterious murders, the Giwa case has remained unsolved after so many years. I keep hoping the truth will be uncovered in our lifetime or after us. More often than not, mysterious crimes are solved long after their commission,” he stated.

Despite Babangida’s persistent denials, questions surrounding the murder of Dele Giwa continue to loom large in the collective memory of Nigerians. The explosive assassination of the outspoken journalist remains one of the darkest stains on Nigeria’s history of press freedom and human rights.