Dele Giwa’s Murder: I’m Clean As A Whistle- IBB

Former military dictator Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida says the mystery behind the murder of renowned journalist Dele Giwa, will one day be revealed, despite past efforts to do this have failed.

General Babangida who ruled the country between 1984 and 1993 has been fingered in the deaths of some Nigerians including the fearless Giwa, who was the Editor in chief of Newswatch at the time for opposing his dictatorship.

Giwa was killed in Lagos with a parcel bomb suspected tohave the imprimatur of the regime. In fact, not a few have accused Babangida of direct involvement in the bloody murder.

Many years after the incident, security agencies have yet to uncover those behind the murder, amidts suggestions of a government cover-up in other to stop those involved from been exposed.

But in his book, ‘A Journey In Service’ launched in Abuja on Thursday IBB as he’s fondly called denied culpability in the murder of the popular journalist

He accused the media and security agencies of not doing enough to get to the bottom of the murder, saying whether now or in the future the mystery surrounding it will become a public item.

IBB said, “The hysteria of the media did not help the investigation of the Giwa murder. As is typical of the Nigerian media, the direction was marked by an adversarial attitude towards the government, which had remained the hallmark of the Nigerian media from its colonial heyday.”

He explained the futility of past government efforts to get to the bottom of the murder.

According to him, “When the Obasanjo civilian administration reopened the Giwa case at the Oputa Panel on Human and Civil Rights, I expected that the police and lawyers would come forward with new evidence as to their findings on the Giwa murder over the years.

“Nothing of such happened. The Giwa, like all mysterious murders, has remained unsolved after so many years. I keep hoping it will be uncovered in our lifetime or after us. More often than not, mysterious crimes are solved long after their commission.”

Meanwhile, Omoyele Sowore, an activist, in his response to the book said the former dictator cannot exonerate his regime for what happened to Giwa, and other killing that happened under the regime.

Apart from this, Sowore, the Publisher of Sahara Reporters said in a post he shared on his X handle that IBB must be held responsible for the annulment of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election won by the late Moshood Kashimawo Abiola.

IBB said he was forced to annul the election won by the late business mogul.

“Today, former Nigerian dictator Ibrahim Babangida will launch his book, which is expected to falsely blame late General Sanni Abacha, another wicked dictator, for the annulment of June 12 elections, on doing so he will be admitting they were free and fair. Babangida’s narrative will be totally false as his life and times have always been! Don’t forget Babangida killed journalist Dele Giwa via parcel bomb in 1986. He murdered several military officers and bosom friends in phantom coup d’etat, he crashed a plane filled with military officers, he stole billions from the Nigerian national treasury, destroyed the Nigerian economy through SAP and introduced a fake transition program that he personally aborted in 1993. As usual he will blame someone else for all these,” Sowore said.