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Dele Giwa assassination: Investigation was marred by interferences from`high places’ – Ex-DIG
Twenty-nine years after the murder of renowned journalist, Dele Giwa, a retired police chief, Chris Omeben, who conducted the investigation says the unresolved assassination is the most frustrating case he handled in his career. Giwa, the founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch Magazine, was killed through a parcel bomb at his Ikeja, Lagos residence on Oct. 19, 1986.
Omeben, a former Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), who turns 80 on Oct. 27, told NAN on Monday that the high profile investigation was marred by interferences from “high places’’. The DIG explained that even when he had narrowed in on the principal suspect, who could have thrown more light on the riddle, the suspect was allowed to escape from Nigeria.
“They said somebody brought a parcel and his son Billy received the parcel and took it to his father (Dele Giwa), who was having his breakfast that morning. “On the breakfast table was a man called Kayode Soyinka, he was there; Dele was there and then the son Billy handed over the parcel. “And as he did so, I heard Soyinka left the table and went to the adjacent room.
“It was while he was there that the parcel detonated. Dele was injured and eventually died. The metal partition separating the dining room and the kitchen was destroyed. “Beyond that, everything in the kitchen was destroyed. If metal could be mangled this way by the bomb, what of human flesh, what happened to Soyinka? Nobody could give me an answer.
“My conclusion was that Soyinka knew what was coming and he left the room to hide behind the wall. “I took note of all these, went back to conduct an identification parade. We had an identification parade and got people of different physical attributes to be identified by the day watch. “Eventually, when one of those paraded was said to bear a resemblance to the person that delivered the bomb, in spite of my insistence to have the man quizzed, we could not.
“Because interference now came from high places to protect the man. “The man was said to be related to the wife of a governor at that time and as a result of his connection we came to a dead end on that lead,’’ the former police chief, who was in charge of the research department of the police CID, when Giwa was killed, said.
Omeben told NAN that the setback did not in any way deter him from using the evidence he had to follow the lead on Soyinka, and that he called on the Newswatch authorities to produce Soyinka. “I have enough evidence to quiz Soyinka now. Please, Ray Ekpu can I have Soyinka now?
“They resisted up till today. Up till today Soyinka never appeared before the police. “They started to insinuate that the assassination was masterminded by Babangida, Akilu etc. “They said that Akilu ought to have been investigated. “As a matter of fact, I had interrogated Akilu and he told me that yes they had invited Dele Giwa some few days before the assassination over a negative statement he made about Nigeria in a New York newspaper.
“He said that they had to invite him to tell him that he was wrong for portraying the country in bad light in the international press. “Akilu insisted that the invitation was not enough to accuse the government of complicity in the assassination of Dele Giwa.
“He satisfied me with his explanation. “Togun also absolved himself with his own explanation. “The parcel bomb was said to have the Federal Government logo on it, which to me was not enough evidence. “It was more of a circumstantial evidence. I can prove it!
“Go to any printing press if you are a “good’’ criminal and you are planning well, they can print it for you and place it on the parcel, and it will look as if it came from the government. “But for me to satisfy myself, I said please gentlemen, can I have Soyinka?
“Nobody! Soyinka ran away to London that was my principal suspect! “He did not appear until eventually I left the CID. I was retired from the police in 1989 and what happened after that I don’t know,’’ Omeben, now an Archbishop of the Jesus Families Ministries at Iyana Ipaja, near Lagos added. He said that Giwa was also careless in maintaining a relationship with his estranged wife.
source: vanguard
At least 23 people were killed in a series of suspected suicide bombings, police in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri said on Tuesday.
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More than 100 other people were injured in the blasts that took place on Monday evening in the capital of Nigeria’s restive Borno state.
No group has claimed responsibility for the suspected attacks.
The deadly blasts come after a military post was attacked overnight Sunday to Monday, which authorities blamed on suspected Islamist militants.
This sad incident is coming barely two weeks after Primate Elijah Ayodele, the Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church specifically warned against attacks in some states. He mentioned these states while calling on security operatives to pay close attention to them.
These were his words:
“Another attack is coming up in these following states where the military must watch carefully and intelligently; Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger, Borno, Kwara and Kogi state. They want to do a deadly attack, it’s preventable but it depends on how they will handle it. I have told you about the danger coming up.”
@primateayodele
Unfortunately, some of our military agencies don’t believe spiritual intelligence can save the country from so much danger hence, their neglect of this prophetic warning but now, it has been fulfilled with the miliary losing credibility by the day while Primate Ayodele continues to gain momentum.
Likewise, At least 26 passengers and crew sustained varying degrees of injuries on Monday following an accident involving the Kaduna–Abuja train, according to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
Opeifa explained that the train departed Rigasa in Kaduna at 7:15 a.m. and was approaching Asham station around 9:16 a.m. when a loud bang was heard after the power car and trailing locomotive collided with one of the passenger coaches.
In July 2025, Primate Ayodele asked nigerians to pray not to see train mishap on the Kaduna-Abuja route.
@primateayodele #nigeriantiktok🇳🇬 #fulfillment #train #abuja #primateayodele
“Let’s pray not to see train mishap in Abuja-Kaduna, Kaduna-Abuja route.”
This has also been fulfilled.
The project ends decades search for investors, boosts Nigeria’s blue economy
By Prince Adeyemi Shonibare
Nigeria’s maritime sector is set for a major transformation following a landmark agreement involving the world’s largest container shipping company, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), which has secured a 45-year concession to build, manage and operate a modern container terminal at Snake Island Port in Lagos.
The project, to be developed in partnership with Nigerdock, marks one of the most significant private sector investments in Nigeria’s port infrastructure in recent decades and is expected to strengthen the country’s role as a major maritime gateway in West and Central Africa.
For Nigeria, the agreement brings to close decades of efforts to attract large-scale investors to develop Snake Island Port, a strategically located maritime asset in Lagos.
Long-standing concession history
Snake Island’s maritime facilities date back several decades. In 1992, the Federal Government granted a 99-year concession for the island’s port and industrial facilities to Nigerdock, a major maritime engineering and logistics company.
Nigerdock was later privatised and is currently operated by the Jagal Group owned by Nigerian industrialist Maher Jarmakani.
Over the years, the Island Container Terminal fell into disrepair, requiring major rehabilitation and modernization to meet modern global shipping standards.
The new partnership with MSC is expected to transform the port into a state-of-the-art container handling facility capable of attracting larger vessels and increasing Nigeria’s cargo throughput capacity.
Buhari administration approved the project.
The investment framework for the Snake Island development was approved in May 2023 by the Federal Executive Council under then President Muhammadu Buhari.
The approval authorised total private investment of approximately $974.1 million for the project under a Public-Private Partnership structure, including the 45-year concession period.
At the same time, the Federal Government also approved two other major maritime infrastructure projects:
• Development of the Ondo Multipurpose Port in Ilaje, Ondo State, with $1.48 billion in private investment and a 50-year concession.
• Expansion and development of the Burutu Sea Port in Delta State, involving $1.2 billion in private investment and a 40-year concession.
These projects form part of Nigeria’s broader effort to develop its blue economy and expand maritime trade capacity.
Construction partners
Engineering and construction of the Snake Island container terminal will be handled by:
• ITB Nigeria Limited
• DEME Group
ITB Nigeria Limited is part of the Chagoury Group and owned by the Chagoury family, while DEME Group is a globally recognised Belgian marine engineering and dredging company with extensive experience in port construction.
MSC profile
Founded in 1970 by Italian shipping entrepreneur Gianluigi Aponte and his wife Rafaela Aponte-Diamant, MSC has grown from a single cargo vessel into the largest container shipping company in the world.
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the company operates in more than 155 countries and serves over 500 ports worldwide, with a fleet of roughly 900 container ships and over 200,000 employees globally.
The MSC Group also operates major logistics and maritime businesses including inland logistics through Medlog, cruise tourism through MSC Cruises, and port terminal operations across several continents.
According to Forbes, the estimated net worth of MSC founder Gianluigi Aponte is about $43.9 billion as of February 2026, placing him among the world’s richest shipping magnates. The company remains privately owned by the Aponte family, with both founders holding equal ownership stakes.
Management comments
Speaking on the development, MSC Group President Diego Aponte said the company is committed to strengthening its operations in Nigeria and across Africa.
“We are proud to expand our presence in Nigeria through this important infrastructure project. The Snake Island terminal will enhance service delivery and improve port efficiency for our customers and partners in the region,”
Chief Executive Officer of Nigerdock, Maher Jarmakani, described the agreement as a major milestone for the Nigerian maritime sector.
“We are delighted to partner with MSC in developing a world-class container terminal that will enhance Nigeria’s logistics capabilities and support economic growth,” he said.
Economic impact
Industry analysts say the project could significantly strengthen Nigeria’s maritime economy by expanding cargo handling capacity, reducing congestion at Lagos ports and attracting additional international shipping traffic.
The development is also expected to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs across maritime operations, logistics, transport services and port-related commercial activities.
Infrastructure expansion
Beyond the port development, plans are also underway for Nigeria’s first underwater tunnel, linking Ahmadu Bello Way in Victoria Island through Snake Island and connecting the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway with the Sokoto-Badagry Superhighway corridor through Badagry.
The tunnel project is expected to significantly improve freight movement and road connectivity between Lagos ports and national transport networks.
Strategic milestone
With the entry of MSC into the Snake Island development, industry observers say Nigeria is taking a significant step toward modernizing its maritime infrastructure and positioning itself as a regional hub for global shipping and trade.
For a project that has waited for decades for major international investors, the Snake Island concession represents a turning point in Nigeria’s port development strategy and a strong signal of global confidence in the country’s maritime future.
By Prince Adeyemi Shonibare
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