General Ibrahim Babangida (retd.) has denied involvement in the assassination of Dele Giwa, a journalist and editor-in-chief of Newswatch.
Giwa, a critic of Babangida’s military government, was assassinated by a parcel bomb in his home in Ikeja, Lagos State, on October 19, 1986.
Two days prior, a senior official of the Directorate of Military Intelligence accused Giwa of illegally importing and stockpiling arms and ammunition to stage a socialist revolution in Nigeria.
Perturbed by the charge, Giwa quickly briefed his lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi.
However, the following day, a security chief, Colonel Halilu Akilu, called to reassure Giwa that the accusation had resulted from a misunderstanding, that the matter had been cleared, and that Giwa should think nothing of it.
According to Ray Ekpu, Giwa’s colleague at Newswatch, a few hours later, a government emissary arrived at Giwa’s Ikeja apartment. His son, Billy, retrieved the parcel and delivered it to his father, who was sitting at the dining table in the company of Kayode Soyinka, the London correspondent of Newswatch, who was visiting from the UK. The envelope had the President’s seal and was marked “To be opened by addressee only.”
However, denying the longtime allegation that he was involved in Giwa’s death, Babangida, in his autobiography, “A Journey in Service,” presented in Abuja on Thursday, noted that he expected that one day, the truth would be uncovered.
Babangida said, “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. It is a situation in which the government is adjudged guilty even before the evidence in a case is adduced.
“When the Obasanjo civilian administration reopened the Giwa case at the Oputa Panel on Human and Civil Rights, 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. The Giwa, like all mysterious murders, has remained unsolved after so many years. I keep hoping it will be uncovered in our lifetime or after us. More often than not, mysterious crimes are solved long after their commission.”
The public presentation of the autobiography coincided with the opening of Babangida’s presidential library.
President Bola Tinubu attended, as did past presidents, military officials, and business heavyweights such as Alhaji Aliko Dangote.
Former Vice Presidents Atiku Abubakar, Namadi Sambo, and Yemi Osinbajo were also in attendance, as was the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election and former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, and the New Nigeria Peoples Party’s presidential candidate and former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso.
The keynote speaker was Nana Akufo-Addo, former President of Ghana, and his counterpart, the former President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Koroma, also graced the ceremony.
Governors, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, industrialists, technocrats, and traditional rulers were also present.
