On Saturday, October 18, 1986, Nigerian journalist Dele Giwa attended a gathering with Nobel Prize-winning writer Prof. Wole Soyinka. At the time, there was no way to know that Giwa was living through the final hours of his life. Within less than 24 hours, he would be critically wounded by a parcel bomb and would become one of Nigeria’s most enduring unsolved assassination cases.
Giwa, the founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch magazine, had already been under intense scrutiny from Nigeria’s military government. In the days preceding his death, he had been questioned by security officials over allegations concerning his journalism and supposed political activities. His colleague and Newswatch co-founder, Ray Ekpu, later recalled that Giwa was deeply troubled by the interrogations.
The situation had become particularly serious following questioning by officials of the State Security Service (SSS), including Lt. Col. A.K. Togun, and contact with Col. Halilu Akilu of the Directorate of Military Intelligence. Among the allegations reportedly made against Giwa were that Newswatch was preparing further politically sensitive stories and that he had connections to groups allegedly seeking to destabilise the military government. Giwa denied the accusations.
According to Ray Ekpu's account, Giwa subsequently informed lawyer and human-rights campaigner Chief Gani Fawehinmi about the security interrogations and the concerns surrounding them. Fawehinmi later became one of the principal figures pursuing legal action over Giwa's assassination.
Then came Saturday, October 18.
That day, according to accounts later given by colleagues, a call was made to Giwa's home from the military intelligence establishment. Col. Halilu Akilu reportedly spoke with Giwa's wife, Funmi, and requested directions to their residence. He reportedly said he wanted to see Giwa and suggested that the President's ADC had something for him.
The following morning, Sunday, October 19, Giwa contacted Akilu about the previous day's calls. According to Ekpu's account, Giwa said he had already informed his lawyer about the allegations against him. Shortly afterwards, a parcel was delivered to his residence at Talabi Street, Ikeja.
The package appeared to carry the Nigerian presidential seal. Giwa had previously received official-looking correspondence, so there was reportedly nothing immediately unusual about opening it. While he was at home with Newswatch's London Bureau Chief, Kayode Soyinka, Giwa attempted to open the package.
It exploded.
The device was a parcel bomb, and the blast inflicted catastrophic injuries on the 39-year-old journalist. He was rushed to hospital but died from his injuries that same day. Contemporary accounts and later investigations have consistently recorded October 19, 1986, as the date of his assassination.
The killing shocked Nigeria and sent a chilling message through the country's media community. Newswatch had established itself as a bold investigative publication, challenging conventional approaches to journalism during a period of military rule.
The investigation that followed generated serious controversy. Fawehinmi pursued legal action and sought the prosecution of Col. Halilu Akilu and Lt. Col. A.K. Togun. An investigative report associated with the police inquiry reportedly recommended that the two officers be made available for further investigation and voice identification. However, they were never prosecuted for Giwa's murder.
Years later, the Oputa Panel also examined the circumstances surrounding Giwa's death. Its report called for the case to be reopened and investigated properly, while noting the serious questions surrounding the circumstances of the assassination.
Yet four decades later, the central question remains unanswered:
Who ordered the parcel bomb that killed Dele Giwa—and who actually delivered it?
No person has been convicted for his assassination. The case remains one of the most haunting chapters in Nigeria's history of press freedom, military rule and unresolved political violence.
Forty years after that October morning, Dele Giwa's murder remains unsolved—and the silence surrounding who killed him remains almost as disturbing as the bomb itself.
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