Court Orders AGF to Pursue Justice for Dele Giwa’s Murder

A Federal High Court in Abuja has mandated the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to re-open the investigation and prosecution of those who murdered the founder of Newswatch Magazine, Dele Giwa in 1986.

Giwa was assassinated on October 19, 1986, in his Lagos office by means of a letter bomb.

During the delivery of the judgment on Friday in a case against the AGF, Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo affirmed that the Chief Law Officer of the Federation is duty-bound to prosecute and sanction the killers of media practitioners in the country.

In addition to 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 taken legal action against the AGF to enforce the fundamental rights of media practitioners to safety, as guaranteed by the 1999 Constitution and African Charters on Human Rights

Justice Ekwo, in his judgment, mandated the Federal Government to ensure the adequate protection and safety of journalists’ lives as outlined in sections 33 and 39 of the Constitution, and Articles 4 and 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Kanyi Daily recalls that a Federal High Court in Lagos had dismissed a money laundering charge against a former chief of air staff, Adesola Amosu, and two others.