- Dele Giwa, the founder of Newswatch Magazine, was murdered on October 19, 1986 in his Lagos office through a letter bomb during the military regime of General Badamosi Babangida.
Thirty eight years after his murder under suspicious circumstances, a federal high court in Abuja has order the re-opening of the investigation and prosecution of the killers of Dele Giwa.
Dele Giwa, the founder of Newswatch Magazine, was murdered on October 19, 1986 in his Lagos office through a letter bomb during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida.
Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo ordered the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF) to re-open the case while ruling on a suit against the AGF on Friday.
Delivering judgment, Justice Ekwo held that the Chief Law Officer of the Federation is under obligation to prosecute and penalize killers of media practitioners in the country.
Apart from Dele Giwa, the court ruled that the killings of other journalists in the discharge of their lawful duties must be investigated and perpetrators brought to book in line with the provisions of the law.
The Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda, MRA, had sued the AGF for the enforcement of fundamental rights of media practitioners to safety as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution and African Charters on Human Rights.
Justice Ekwo in the judgment ordered the Federal Government to ensure adequate protection and safety of lives of journalists as enshrined in sections 33, 39 of the Constitution and Articles 4 and 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.
Details later