Newswatch Plus Limited will present a commemorative book in honour of Dele Giwa, the founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch magazine, on October 19, 2026, marking 40 years since his assassination.
Gatekeepers News reports that the book, titled Dele Giwa’s Granite Journalism, will be unveiled at the Kessington Adebutu Auditorium of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos, at noon. Sam Amuka, founder and publisher of Vanguard Newspapers, will chair the event.
According to a statement by Newswatch Plus Limited, the publication celebrates Giwa’s contributions to Nigerian journalism through his writings and works published in the Daily Times, Sunday Concord and Newswatch magazine.
Edited by veteran journalist Ray Ekpu, one of the founding editors of Newswatch, the book also features tributes from prominent journalists, particularly Giwa’s friends and professional contemporaries.
Giwa was killed on October 19, 1986, when a parcel bomb was delivered to his residence on Talabi Street, Ikeja, Lagos. His assassination remains unsolved, four decades after the incident.
He co-founded Newswatch in 1985 alongside Ekpu, Yakubu Mohammed and Dan Agbese, serving as the magazine’s first editor-in-chief, with Ekpu as his deputy.
Under Giwa’s leadership, Newswatch became a prominent platform for investigative journalism in Nigeria, contributing to the development of critical reporting on public affairs.
The planned book presentation also comes after the deaths of two other members of the magazine’s founding quartet. Agbese died in November 2025, while Mohammed died in January 2026, leaving Ekpu as the only surviving member of the four founders.
Newswatch said the anniversary would provide an opportunity for the media community to remember Giwa, preserve his journalistic legacy and celebrate the contributions of the magazine’s founding editors to Nigerian journalism.
The organisation also called on media outlets to cover the book presentation as journalists and other members of the public commemorate the 40th anniversary of Giwa’s death.
