The Federal Government has approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja, seeking an extension of time to appeal a judgment directing it to reopen investigations and prosecution over the murder of Dele Giwa, the late journalist and founding editor-in-chief of Newswatch magazine.
The request followed the expiration of the 90-day statutory period allowed for filing appeals at the Court of Appeal.
In February 2024, the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the Federal Government to reopen investigations into the killing of Giwa, who was assassinated by a parcel bomb at his Ikeja, Lagos residence on October 19, 1986 — a case that remains one of Nigeria’s most chilling unresolved attacks on press freedom.
The application for extension of time is contained in a motion on notice filed on December 23, 2025, by A.B. Mohammed, counsel to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF). The Federal Government is asking the appellate court for leave to appeal the judgment delivered on February 16, 2024, by Justice Inyang Ekwo.
According to the motion, the government expressed its intention to challenge the ruling but acknowledged that it failed to meet the legally prescribed timeframe. It stated that it requires the court’s indulgence to regularise its appeal process, adding that a proposed notice and grounds of appeal have already been drafted.
“That the judgment of the Federal High Court was delivered by Honourable Justice I. E. Ekwo on the 16th of February 2024,” the motion read. “The appellant/applicant is desirous to appeal the said judgment of the court and requires time within which to do so.”
The affidavit in support of the motion was deposed to by Kelechi Ohaeri, a litigation officer in the Department of Civil Appeals at the Federal Ministry of Justice. Ohaeri averred that granting the application would serve the interest of justice.
The original suit compelling the reopening of the investigation was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the Media Rights Agenda (MRA).
Beyond Giwa’s case, the action also listed several other journalists who were killed under unresolved circumstances, including Bolade Fasisi of the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), murdered on March 31, 1998; Edward Olalekan of Daily Times, killed on June 1, 1999; Godwin Agbroko of ThisDay, murdered on December 22, 1999; Omololu Falobi of The Punch, killed on October 5, 2006; Abayomi Ogundeji of ThisDay, murdered on August 17, 2008; and Edo Sule-Ugbagwu of The Nation, killed on April 24, 2010.
The appeal move comes amid renewed scrutiny of the state’s commitment to addressing historic attacks on journalists and ending the culture of impunity surrounding crimes against the media.
