Today, September 5, 2025, marks sixteen years since Chief Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi (SAN, SAM, GCON) passed away. For many Nigerians, Gani was not just a lawyer, but a moral compass — a fearless advocate who sacrificed his health, freedom, and comfort in pursuit of justice for the voiceless.
It is therefore disturbing — indeed insulting — that at such a solemn time of remembrance, Yakubu Mohammed, co-founder of Newswatch, has chosen to drag Gani’s name through the mud in an attempt to revise one of the darkest chapters of Nigeria’s history: the parcel-bomb assassination of Dele Giwa in 1986.
In his memoir and subsequent interviews, Mohammed not only exonerates the Babangida regime from culpability in Giwa’s murder, but also portrays Gani as an opportunist who “hijacked” the case for selfish motives. This is revisionist history at its worst — cowardly, dishonest, and timed 39 years after Giwa’s death and 16 years after Gani is no longer alive to respond.
Let us revisit the facts — because history must not be rewritten to suit the comfort of collaborators and courtiers of dictatorship.
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Gani and Newswatch: The Truth of His Involvement
Mohammed claims that Gani was never Newswatch’s lawyer. This is false.
1. Dele Giwa himself briefed Gani. In 1985, when Chief Rotimi Williams served Newswatch with a pre-action notice, it was Giwa who walked into Gani’s chambers and retained him. Gani represented Newswatch against Rotimi Williams.
2. Gani defended Newswatch’s freedom. When Babangida’s regime proscribed Newswatch in 1987, it was Gani who dragged the government to court in defense of the magazine’s right to publish.
3. Gani acted pro bono in many cases. Those close to him recall that he never once demanded payment from Newswatch or Giwa’s family. His pursuit of the matter was born of conviction, not cash.
To now suggest that Gani “inserted himself” is dishonest. He was there from the very beginning.
The Parcel Bomb and the Legal Battles
On October 19, 1986, a parcel bomb was delivered to Giwa’s Lagos residence. Within hours, fingers pointed to the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida.
Two days earlier, Giwa had been interrogated by Col. Halilu Akilu and Col. Kunle Togun of the State Security Service (SSS). On October 18, Akilu called a Newswatch staff member asking for Giwa’s home address. The next day, Giwa was blown apart in his living room.
It was Gani who transformed public outrage into legal strategy:
• 38 cases filed. Gani appeared in court 214 times over Giwa’s murder.
• Supreme Court victory. He won the right to privately prosecute Akilu and Togun — a landmark ruling.
• Prepared for Babangida himself. Gani famously told journalists he had 420 questions for Babangida, had the dictator dared to step into the witness box.
That the state sabotaged the prosecution by refusing to serve summons and mobilizing soldiers to block court orders cannot be pinned on Gani. He did his part.
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The Gloria Okon Connection
Mohammed dismisses as fiction the claim that Giwa’s murder was linked to Gloria Okon, the mysterious drug courier whose death in custody remains unresolved.
But this too is selective amnesia:
• At the Oputa Panel, Ray Ekpu (Mohammed’s co-founder at Newswatch) admitted that Giwa was indeed pursuing the Gloria Okon story.
• Former Attorney-General Bola Ajibola testified that he requested official reports on Okon’s death, but the Babangida regime stonewalled him.
• Multiple witnesses, including journalists, linked Okon’s case to high-ranking individuals in government.
It is therefore not unreasonable to believe Giwa’s pursuit of the truth placed him in mortal danger.
Unanswered Questions
If Giwa’s murder had nothing to do with Newswatch or Babangida’s government, why was Col. Akilu — a senior security officer — desperate for Giwa’s home address?
Why did the Babangida government reject calls for an open judicial inquiry?
Why did newspapers get censored for simply asking, “Who killed Dele Giwa?”
Why did Newswatch itself, under Mohammed and others, suddenly go quiet after an initial burst of editorials?
These are the questions Mohammed conveniently avoids.
Gani vs. Mohammed: Who Really Stood Tall?
While Mohammed and his colleagues chose survival, Gani chose struggle. He was detained multiple times, his health deteriorated, his chambers raided — yet he never wavered.
Even Babangida himself once admitted that Gani was the only genuine critic he respected.
And let us remember: Gani quietly placed Dele Giwa’s mother on a monthly allowance for 23 years, until his own death. This private act of compassion speaks louder than Mohammed’s posthumous sneering.
Why Now?
One must ask: why is Mohammed suddenly rewriting history, 39 years after the murder and 16 years after Gani’s death?
Is it an attempt to sanitize the legacy of Babangida? Is it to absolve his own conscience for the silence of Newswatch? Or is it a final strike at a man whose moral clarity exposed the cowardice of his contemporaries?
Whatever the motive, it dishonors Giwa, insults Gani, and betrays the Nigerian people.
Conclusion: History Cannot Be Rewritten
Chief Gani Fawehinmi is gone, but his record is indelible. He fought the Babangida regime tooth and nail, at immense personal cost, in pursuit of justice for Dele Giwa.
Yakubu Mohammed may choose to remember things differently, but he cannot erase the truth:
• Gani fought when others fled.
• Gani spoke when others kept silent.
• Gani stood for justice when it was dangerous to do so.
If the dictator himself could respect him, then surely his countrymen owe him the same.
Sixteen years after his death, let us honor Gani Fawehinmi with gratitude, not lies.
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Reporting by Naija247news in Lagos, Nigeria.
