LAGOS — Four decades after one of Nigeria’s most infamous political assassinations, Dr. Dokun Adedeji, the physician who treated pioneering investigative journalist Dele Giwa following a deadly parcel bomb explosion in October 1986, has revealed why he preserved his bloodstained clothing and shoes for five years.
Speaking on Monday, October 19, 2026, at the public presentation of Dele Giwa’s Granite Journalism held at the Kessington Adebutu Auditorium of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) in Ogba, Lagos, Dr. Adedeji provided a chilling account of the late newsman’s final 30 minutes of life.
The commemorative book launch, marking the 40th anniversary of the Newswatch co-founder’s death, brought together media icons, veteran editors, and press freedom advocates to honor Giwa’s enduring investigative legacy while reflecting on the unresolved circumstances surrounding his murder during the military presidency of General Ibrahim Babangida.
Recounting the tragic Sunday morning of October 19, 1986, Dr. Adedeji—then a young medical officer on duty at the First Foundation Medical Centre in Opebi, Ikeja—recalled the chaos as panicked citizens rushed the 39-year-old journalist into the facility shortly after a parcel delivered to his Talabi Street residence detonated in his lap.
Detailing the severity of the blast injuries, the medical doctor confessed that the catastrophic trauma suffered by the editor-in-chief was unlike anything he had encountered before or since in his medical practice.
“I was the doctor on duty for the weekend. I saw people running, saying, ‘They brought Dele Giwa,’” Dr. Adedeji told the solemn audience. “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.”
Despite the magnitude of his injuries, Giwa remained conscious upon arrival and desperately clung to life while inquiring about his survival chances and the safety of his household.
“But he was still talking,” Dr. Adedeji recounted. “He said, ‘Dokun, se mi o ni ku sha?’ (I hope I will not die?). I said, ‘I don’t know.’”
As medical personnel battled frantically to stabilize him, Giwa repeatedly asked about his wife, Funmi, and his infant daughter, Aisha, who was in the dining area when the parcel exploded.
“How is Aisha? Do you know anything about Aisha?” Giwa reportedly asked from his hospital bed.
Despite aggressive emergency interventions, Giwa succumbed to massive trauma and blood loss at approximately 1:00 PM, roughly half an hour after being brought into the emergency room.
Dr. Adedeji explained that the bond between them extended far beyond a standard doctor-patient relationship, describing Giwa as a protective older brother whose horrific death left an indelible emotional scar. To honor his memory and fix the horror of state-sponsored violence in his mind, the physician kept his own blood-drenched medical attire untouched for half a decade.
“His blood was on my clothes and my shoes,” Dr. Adedeji stated. “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.”
The book presentation—chaired by Vanguard Newspapers publisher Mr. Sam Amuka and edited by veteran columnist Ray Ekpu—compiles Giwa’s seminal investigative works across the Daily Times, Sunday Concord, and Newswatch, serving as both an archival treasure and a stark reminder of the ongoing risks facing journalists who hold authority to account.
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