Gani Fawehinmi's Legal Battle Over Dele Giwa's Murder

On 19th October 1986, Dele Giwa, the Founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch, was killed by a parcel bomb, an event that shocked Nigeria during a time of close media-military relations under General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. Following Giwa's death, accusations were directed at the State Security Services (SSS) and the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI), led by AK Togun and Col. Halilu Akilu.

Two days prior to his murder, Giwa had been interrogated by SSS operatives regarding his writings, which included claims of a socialist revolution. Gani Fawehinmi took legal action to prosecute Togun and Akilu, resulting in the Supreme Court's unanimous ruling in December 1987 that allowed citizens to pursue criminal prosecutions in murder cases.

Despite this, the case was later dismissed by Justice Eniola Longe in February 1988 for lack of merit. Fawehinmi also sought to have Babangida appear before the Oputa Panel, which he declined, citing concerns over fairness and the panel's focus on unrelated political issues.