Chief Executive Officer of Newswatch Plus Limited, Mr. Ray Ekpu, has described former military president Ibrahim Babangida’s excuses for the failure of his regime to unravel the assassination of the founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch Magazine, Late Dele Giwa, through a letter bomb as “untenable, unviable, unacceptable, unbelievable, inexcusable”.
Ekpu raised the objection on Tuesday in an article titled, “Dele Giwa’s Assassination: More Questions Than Answers (2),” which he said was an expanded version of the one he wrote when Babangida brought out his explanation.
His reaction followed Babangida’s explanation in his autobiography, “A Journey in Service,” on why the investigation of Giwa’sassassination, which occurred on Sunday, October 19, 1986, was not concluded by his government.
Ekpu wrote, “In any case, why would Babangida wait for 39 years before coming out to bandy this frivolous and puerile excuse for the failure of his government to bring to justice the evil men who assassinated a man that showed enormous respect to him and fought strenuously for a better Nigeria?
“If Babangida thought that Giwa’s death was being politicised by those who were opposed to his government’s policies, why did he not use his friendship with Giwa and the novel manner of the assassination as genuine excuses for bringing the matter to a conclusion?”
Babangiga, according to Ekpu, blamed the inconclusive investigation on the politisation of Giwa’s death by those who were opposed to his military government’s policies.
According to Babangida, “The insinuation that the parcel may have come from the headquarters of the administration was cheap and foolish.
“Why would an officially planned high-level assassination carry an apparent forwarding address of the killer?
“Why would a government planned and executed crime point directly at the suspect? All this did not make sense to me.”
However, Ekpu said it might not make sense to Babangida but it made sense to other people, “when we explained that Giwa had received letters from President Babangida which had the inscription ‘From the Office of the C-in-C’ and the address was always to ‘Chief Dele Giwa’ although Giwa was not a chief.
“And written on the parcel was ‘To be opened by the addressee only.’”
Ekpu stated that he had seen one letter addressed that way when Giwa asked him to join in drafting a speech for Babangida.
He said the late Giwa wanted to draft a speech for Babangida that would make a statement on the return to democracy.
He stated, “I joined him to draft the speech. So, anyone who sent the parcel bomb must have been familiar with how Babangida’s speeches or letters were dispatched to Giwa.
“And to ensure that the envelope was opened only by the addressee it was important to state so.
“That is why Kayode Soyinka who was in the study with him did not seek to open the parcel.
“That mystery about writing the address of the sender is cleared. In any case, when the parcel exploded what was written was wiped off but Dele’s son, Billy, saw what was written on the parcel before giving it to his father. That is point number one.”
He recalled that when Giwa was questioned by Col. A. K. Togun a couple of days before his assassination, they asked him four questions.
“One of the questions was about Alozie Ogugbuaja, a policeman who had a problem with the police authorities. The discussion about Ogugbuaja was on telephone between Dele and me. In 1986, only the federal government controlled telephones in Nigeria.
“I discovered later that our phones were bugged by the government and I had to get a security expert to come and ‘sweep’ our residence.
“Point number three: after Dele’s assassination Augustus Aikhomu, the number two man in the government, addressed the press on the issue but never allowed any questions to be asked on the matter or to be addressed to the suspects.
“Why? Because he feared that those fingered may not be able to answer the questions convincingly.
“Point number four: A day before Giwa’s assassination, Brigadier Halilu Akilu phoned Giwa’s wife, Funmi, and asked for the address of Giwa’s residence.
“Funmi asked why he wanted the address. Akilu said he intended to stop there and see Giwa on his way to Kano. Did he stop there? No! Did he go to Kano that day? No! Did he visit the family any time after that? No! What a friend!
“Point number five: In July 2001, Abubakar Tsav who investigated the case appeared at Oputa panel in Abuja. Tsav said he wanted permission to interrogate both Akilu and Col. A. K. Togun but he was not allowed to interview or question them.
“And when he submitted the case file to the DIG in charge of the CID, Mr Chris Omeben, he neither got the case file back nor was he allowed to proceed further with the case.
“The matter was simply closed and he was left hanging in the air. But the matter remained alive though Giwa was dead.
“Point number six: The suspects in the matter went to the High Court in Abuja to stop the Oputa panel from inviting them to appear before the panel.”
Ekpu said, “One would have thought that people who were accused of murder would be eager to appear at a duly constituted panel to clear their good names instead of going into hiding through litigation.
“They were afraid that there would be uncomfortable questions for them at the panel.
“Point number seven: Our lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi went to courts at all levels seeking to be allowed to independently prosecute the accused persons but the authorities devised all kinds of harassment strategies to frustrate him.
“Police helicopters were used to intimidate him around his office. Why did they do that if they were not guilty of something?”
Dike Onwuamaeze
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