If You Could K?ll Your Childhood Friend, Who Then Is Dele Giwa?” – Akinnola Blasts Babangida

Veteran journalist and human rights activist, Richard Akinnola, has accused former military ruler Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida of misrepresenting facts about the 1986 assassination of Dele Giwa, the founding editor-in-chief of Newswatch Magazine.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

In a detailed rebuttal issued on Sunday, Akinnola dismissed Babangida’s claims in his newly released autobiography, A Journey in Service, accusing him of attempting to rewrite history and evade accountability.

Reacting to Babangida’s denial of involvement in Giwa’s murder, Akinnola likened it to how criminal suspects always plead not guilty in court.

“Babangida’s denial is expected. Have you ever seen an armed robbery suspect plead guilty in court? It’s all about self-preservation,” he said.

He further referenced the 1990 failed coup led by Major Gideon Orkar, noting that even the coup plotters denied the charges before the military tribunal.

“So, Babangida’s rejection of his government’s role in Giwa’s murder is unsurprising. However, that doesn’t give him the freedom to distort facts.”

Akinnola Highlights Two Major Falsehoods in Babangida’s Account

Akinnola pointed out two significant inaccuracies in Babangida’s narrative regarding Giwa’s assassination.

False Claim 1: Supreme Court Ruling on Gani Fawehinmi

Babangida claimed that the Supreme Court suggested that Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Giwa’s lawyer, could have pursued private prosecution but failed to do so.

Akinnola dismissed this as a blatant falsehood, recalling that on December 18, 1987, the Supreme Court ruled in Fawehinmi’s favor, granting him the right to prosecute Col. Halilu Akilu and Lt-Col. A.K. Togun, two senior security officials in Babangida’s government.

Following this ruling, Fawehinmi sought an order from the Lagos High Court to compel the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to either prosecute the suspects or grant him permission to do so.

On January 21, 1988, Justice Olusola Thomas ordered the DPP to make a decision by January 25, 1988. The Lagos State Solicitor-General then informed Fawehinmi that the state would handle the prosecution.

The case (The State v. Col. Halilu Akilu & Lt. Col. Kunle Togun) was eventually filed before Justice Eniola Longe, but the charges were later dismissed.

Akinnola insisted that had Fawehinmi been fully granted private prosecution rights, he would have summoned Babangida to testify under oath.

“Fawehinmi had 420 questions prepared for Babangida. If he had been in the witness box, we would have known the real killers of Dele Giwa.”

False Claim 2: Oputa Panel Findings

Babangida also claimed that no fresh evidence emerged when President Olusegun Obasanjo reopened the Giwa case during the Oputa Panel hearings on human rights abuses.

Akinnola refuted this, revealing that former Commissioner of Police Abubakar Tsav, who led the Giwa investigation, testified under oath that his findings implicated Babangida’s government.

He also reminded Nigerians that Babangida refused to appear before the panel despite being formally invited.

“Babangida was wrong to say there was no new evidence. His refusal to testify at the Oputa Panel speaks volumes.”

“Babangida, Dele Giwa Was Never Your Friend” – Akinnola

Akinnola also dismissed Babangida’s claim that he and Giwa were friends, calling it deceitful.

“Calling Dele Giwa your good friend is a lie. If you could execute your childhood friend, Mamman Vatsa, who then was Dele Giwa to you? Someone you only knew through his journalism work?”

Akinnola’s response comes as Babangida’s autobiography sparks renewed debate about his regime’s human rights abuses, press suppression, and unresolved political assassinations.

While Babangida continues to deny involvement in Giwa’s letter bomb assassination, critics insist his government still has unanswered questions regarding one of the darkest chapters in Nigeria’s press history.