Nigeria’s Media Rights Agenda (MRA), has called on the Nigerian Government to comply with court order, directing it to investigate the assassination of the founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch Magazine, Dele Giwa, and prosecute his killers
MRA made the call in a statement issued on Monday, October 19, 2026, to mark the 40th anniversary of Giwa’s assassination.
Giwa was killed on October 19, 1986, when a parcel bomb was delivered to his residence in Ikeja, Lagos, in an assassination that remains unresolved.
MRA and Editors urged the government and relevant authorities to demonstrate concrete progress towards resolving the case.
MRA’s Deputy Executive Director, Ayode Longe, said the anniversary should go beyond tributes to the late Journalist and serve as an opportunity to question the government’s failure to ensure justice.
“Forty years is far too long for the assassination of a Journalist of Dele Giwa’s stature to remain unresolved,” Longe said.
He warned that the case must not become an annual occasion for tributes and public outrage without meaningful progress towards identifying and prosecuting those responsible for his death.
Longe recalled that MRA secured a judgment at the Federal High Court in Abuja on February 16, 2024, in a suit against the Attorney-General of the Federation, directing the Federal Government to investigate Giwa’s murder and other unresolved killings of Journalists and ensure the prosecution of the perpetrators.
He said the government had yet to demonstrate any concrete progress in implementing the order, including establishing the facts surrounding the assassination, identifying those responsible and pursuing accountability in accordance with the law.
The organisation described the failure to resolve the case decades after the killing as a “shameful reminder of the entrenched culture of impunity for attacks against Journalists in Nigeria.”
Longe urged the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Nigeria Police Force and other relevant authorities to provide a clear account of the measures taken to comply with the court order.
He said the authorities should disclose the status of the investigation, the investigative steps undertaken and plans for prosecution where the available evidence and applicable law support such action.
The MRA Deputy Executive Director also urged investigators to explore all lawful avenues, including reviewing historical investigation files, witness accounts, documentary evidence and other materials that could help establish the circumstances surrounding Giwa’s death.
According to him, modern forensic methods and investigative tools should also be deployed where appropriate and feasible to advance the investigation.
Longe stressed that the passage of time did not absolve the state of its responsibility to pursue accountability for an unlawful killing, warning that the unresolved case sent a damaging message about the safety of Journalists in Nigeria.
He added that the failure to hold anyone accountable for the killing of such a prominent Journalist could encourage those inclined to attack media professionals to believe they would face no consequences.
MRA said its campaign for justice for Giwa formed part of its broader efforts to secure accountability for the killings of Journalists in Nigeria.
The organisation called on the Federal Government to establish stronger mechanisms to protect Journalists, ensure law enforcement agencies respond effectively to threats and attacks, and demonstrate through concrete action that violence against media professionals would not be tolerated.
Longe said Giwa’s legacy was closely linked to the development of a media sector committed to investigating public affairs, holding those in power accountable and providing citizens with information necessary for participation in public life.
He added that a meaningful commemoration of the late journalist required renewed commitment to truth, accountability, professional courage and the public’s right to know.
According to Longe, “As Nigeria marks four decades since his assassination, the most fitting tribute to Dele Giwa would be demonstrable progress towards justice for him and his family, stronger guarantees for the safety of Journalists, and a national commitment to ending impunity for crimes against Journalists and other media professionals.”
Late Dele Giwa is Edo born from Ugbekpe Ekperi, in Etsako Central Local Government
