Court Directs AGF To Re-open Dele Giwa’s Case

The Federal High Court in Abuja has directed the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF) to reopen investigations and prosecute individuals responsible for the murder of Dele Giwa, the founder of Newswatch Magazine, in 1986.

Dele Giwa was assassinated on October 19, 1986, in his office in Lagos via a letter bomb.

In his judgment delivered on Friday regarding a suit against the AGF, Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo emphasized that the Chief Law Officer of the Federation is duty-bound to prosecute and punish those responsible for the killings of media practitioners in the country.

Apart from Dele Giwa, the court ordered 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 dragged the AGF before the court 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 Charters on Human and Peoples Rights.