‘I Hope I Will Not Die?’ — Doctor Recounts Dele Giwa’s Last Moments

A medical doctor, Dokun Adedeji, has recounted the final moments of the founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch magazine, Dele Giwa, who was killed by a parcel bomb 40 years ago.

Naija News reports that Adedeji spoke on Monday at the presentation of a book, ‘Dele Giwa’s Granite Journalism’, at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos.

Newswatch alumni organised the event in honour of the late journalist. The book compiles some of Giwa’s writings for the Daily Times, Sunday Concord, and Newswatch.

Giwa was killed on October 19, 1986, when a parcel bomb delivered to his home in Ikeja, Lagos, exploded.

The incident occurred under the military regime of Ibrahim Babangida, who ruled the country from 1985 to 1993.

The journalist, 39 when he died, was known for daring investigative reports that held those in power to account and exposed how the government worked.

He was killed two days after he was interrogated by officials of the State Security Service. Adedeji, who attended to Giwa at the hospital, said the journalist fought hard to stay alive.

“It was about 12:30 in the afternoon when a company bus was driven into First Foundation Medical Centre Opebi, Ikeja.

“I was the doctor on duty for the weekend. I saw people running, saying, ‘they brought Dele Giwa’.

“So, we took Uncle Dele to the emergency room. What I saw, I have never seen again since in my practice. He was shattered. His two limbs were open, and he was bleeding.

“But he was still talking. He said, ‘Dokun, se mi o ni ku sha? (I hope I will not die?)’. I said, ‘I don’t know’,” he recalled.

The doctor said the injuries were so severe that Giwa could not have lived a normal life had he survived.

“One thing was sure. I think it was better that he died. There was no way Uncle Dele would have lived with that injury even if he lived,” he said.

Adedeji said Giwa died at about 1 pm, adding that he kept the clothes and shoes he wore that day as a reminder of the tragedy.

“His blood was on my clothes and my shoes. I hung them for five years in the corner of my room, so that every time I saw them, I would remember.

“Uncle Dele was not just my patient. He was like a brother. He treated me like a brother,” he said.

The doctor further disclosed that the dying journalist kept asking about his wife, Funmi, and his last child, Aisha, who had crawled into the dining area of the house shortly after the explosion.

According to him, Giwa repeatedly asked, “How is Aisha? Do you know anything about Aisha?”