Rewind: 40 Years Ago, a Parcel Bomb Tore Through Dele Giwa

Forty years ago, on October 19, 1986, Gele Giwa, the founding editor-in-chief of Newswatch Magazine, was assassinated.

Giwa was killed after he received a parcel bomb which detonated at his residence, then located at no 25 Talabi street, Ikeja, Lagos state.

Giwa, who was 39 at the time, had earned a reputation as an audacious investigative journalist whose work scrutinised those in power and exposed abuses of authority and the inner workings of government.

The tragedy occurred during the military presidency of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, who ruled Nigeria from 1985 to 1993 before stepping aside following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election.

In the days preceding his death, Giwa had come under probe by security officials amid allegations concerning his journalistic activities.

Giwa had written an article on the second-tier foreign exchange market (SFEM), a policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to determine the naira’s exchange rate and allocate foreign exchange according to market forces.

In the article, Giwa warned of the consequences of the policy’s failure, predicting that Nigerians would stone their leaders in the streets if it proved unsuccessful.

Ajibola Kunle Togun, then deputy director of the State Security Service (SSS), subsequently met with Giwa. According to accounts of the encounter, Togun said he found nothing offensive in the article.

However, Ray Ekpu, Giwa’s colleague and fellow co-founder of Newswatch, offered a different account.

Ekpu said Togun had accused Giwa of intending to publish what he described as the “other side” of the circumstances surrounding the removal of Ebitu Ukiwe as chief of staff to Babangida.

Ekpu said Giwa was also accused of plotting with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other groups to orchestrate a so-called socialist revolution.

Separately, Halilu Akilu of the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) questioned Giwa over an allegation that he had been heard discussing the importation of arms with some individuals.

On October 16, 1986, just three days before his death, Giwa appeared at the SSS headquarters in connection with the matter.

On October 18, 1986, Akilu reportedly telephoned Giwa’s residence and spoke with his wife, Funmi, asking for directions because he intended to visit the journalist while travelling to Kano.

On the day of the assassination, Akilu reportedly spoke with Giwa again by telephone. When Giwa asked about the repeated calls, the intelligence official allegedly told him that the matter had been resolved.

Not long afterwards, a parcel delivered to Giwa’s residence exploded, leaving the journalist gravely wounded; he was rushed to hospital but succumbed to his injuries.

After Giwa was killed, there were rumours that he was investigating the death of Gloria Okon in police custody.

The young Nigerian lady was arrested in Kano and was supposedly a drug courier for the powers-that-be.

She reportedly died mysteriously because she was about to reveal names that would have implicated the military president, and his wife, Maryam.

However, there was another version of the rumour that Okon did not die but was surreptitiously flown to the United Kingdom.

Giwa would have turned 79 on March 16, 2026.