Presidential candidate of AAC, Sowore, vows to reopen investigation of Dele Giwa’s murder

The 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, on social media campaign,vowed to reopen investigations into the murder of Dele Giwa of the NEWSWATCH magazines, who was killed through a letter bomb 36 years ago during the military regime of the General Ibrahim Babangida administration.

The AAC presidential candidate, Sowore, on social media campaign highlighted: “36 years ago, ex-military dictator, Ibrahim Babangida, plotted with Halilu Akilu (Ex-Director of National Intelligence) and Col A.K Togun (now deceased) to send a letter bomb that assassinated foremost investigative journalist, Dele Giwa, in his house in Ikeja. We’ll reopen the case! #DELEGIWA #WeCantContinueLikeThis.”

Giwa was killed in his home in Ikeja, Lagos, while in his study with Kayode Soyinka on Sunday, October 19, 1986, while attempting to open a letter delivered to him which eventually exploded. He died before he could get to the hospital. Dele Giwa died two days after he was interrogated by the State Security Service (SSS).

Lt. Col. A.K. Togun, the Deputy Director of the SSS, was cited to have stated in a media interaction at the airport, to have said ‘that on October 9, 1986, Dele Giwa and Alex Ibru had organised a media parley for media executives and the newly created SSS.

“Togun had said that it was at this meeting that the SSS and the media executives reached a secret censorship agreement.

“Under this agreement, the media was to report any story with the potential to embarrass the government to the SSS before publishing such.”

The SSS had invited Dele Giwa to their headquarters for the first time on September 19, 1986, following an article he wrote describing the newly introduced Second-Tier Foreign Exchange Market (SFEM) as “God’s experiment”.

He had stated that if SFEM failed, the people would stone their leaders in the streets.

After the SSS quizzed Dele Giwa, and had taken his statement, they took him to Togun, deputy director of SSS. Togun, in his office, was said to told Dele Giwa that he didn’t see anything offensive in the article since Giwa also expressed that he was hopeful that the regime would make SFEM work.

Sowore has, however, vowed to reopen the case when he becomes president, saying Nigeria cannot continue like this.