By Abimbola Ogunnaike
A Federal High Court in Abuja presided over by Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo has ordered the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF) to re-open investigation and prosecution of those who murdered the founder of Newswatch Magazine, Dele Giwa, in 1986.
Dele Giwa was murdered on October 19, 1986 in his Lagos office through a letter bomb.
Delivering judgment on Friday, 16 February, 2024 in a suit against the AGF, Justice Ekwo held the Chief Law Officer of the Federation is under obligation to prosecute and penalize killers 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.
Recall that 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.
