By [Olusegun Ogunkayode]
October 19, 2025 | Osogbo, Nigeria
Thirty-nine years ago today, on a quiet Sunday morning in Lagos, Nigeria lost one of its bravest voices — Dele Giwa, a man whose pen spoke louder than power and whose courage rattled the walls of corruption.
On October 19, 1986, Dele Giwa, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Newswatch Magazine, sat down to breakfast in his home at Talabi Street, Ikeja, when an innocuous-looking parcel was handed to him. The parcel bore the coat of arms of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a symbol of authority, trust, and national pride. But inside lay death itself. Moments after opening it, the letter bomb exploded, shattering his home, his body, and the heart of a nation.
It was an assassination that stunned the world and changed the face of Nigerian journalism forever. Dele Giwa was more than a journalist. He was a truth-seeker, a man who refused to bow before fear. Through Newswatch, he championed investigative journalism, exposed injustice, and gave Nigerians the courage to question authority at a time when silence was safer than speech.
His murder, the first of its kind in Nigeria, was a brutal message to journalists everywhere, that truth could be dangerous. Yet, in trying to silence him, his killers amplified his voice. His death became a rallying cry for press freedom, for justice, and for every writer who ever dared to hold the powerful accountable.
Today, 39 years later, Dele Giwa’s grave in his hometown of Ekperi, Etsako Central, Edo State, remains a symbol of unbroken courage. Generations of journalists, many born long after his demise, still invoke his name as a guiding light. His story is taught in journalism schools, his words quoted in newsrooms, and his legacy woven into the conscience of a nation still grappling with truth and accountability.
Though no one has ever been convicted for his murder, Dele Giwa’s spirit endures, in every fearless reporter who chases a lead, every editor who insists on the truth, and every citizen who demands transparency from those in power.
As we mark this solemn anniversary, we remember not just how he died, but how he lived, with integrity, brilliance, and unyielding faith in the power of the written word.
Dele Giwa, 1947–1986.
Your pen still bleeds truth.
Your voice still echoes through time.
And your legacy, unbroken, undimmed, and unforgotten, lives on.
Adieu, Dele Giwa, a symbol of fearless and courageo
us compatriot.
