By BONIFACE AKARAH

Newswatch Plus Limited and the Newswatch family will on October 19 unveil a book, Dele Giwa’s Granite Journalism, to honour the late founding Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch magazine, marking 40 years since his assassination by a parcel bomb in Lagos.

The announcement was contained in a press release signed by Soji Akinrinade, Editor-in-Chief of Newswatch Plus, ahead of the anniversary of Giwa’s death on October 19, 1986.

The book presentation is scheduled for 12 noon at the Kessington Adebutu Auditorium of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos. The event will be chaired by Uncle Sam Amuka, founder and publisher of Vanguard Newspapers.

According to the statement, the presentation will provide an opportunity for members of the Newswatch family to celebrate Giwa’s contributions to journalism by showcasing his works and writings from Daily Times, Sunday Concord and Newswatch* magazine.

The book, edited by veteran journalist Ray Ekpu, will also feature tributes from eminent journalists, particularly Giwa’s peers and friends.

Giwa was assassinated at his home on Talabi Street, Ikeja, Lagos, on October 19, 1986, in a case that remains unsolved.

He co-founded Newswatch with Ekpu, Yakubu Mohammed and Dan Agbese, with the magazine making its debut in early 1985. Giwa served as its founding Editor-in-Chief, while Ekpu was his deputy.

Under Giwa’s editorship, the magazine helped usher in a new era of investigative journalism in Nigeria, earning a place in the country’s media history.

The forthcoming book presentation will also come against the backdrop of the deaths of two other founding editors. Agbese died in November 2025, while Mohammed died in January 2026, leaving Ekpu as the last surviving member of the quartet.

The Newswatch family said the anniversary and book presentation would serve as an opportunity to mourn the departed journalism icons while preserving Giwa’s legacy through his writings and the recollections of those who knew and worked with him.

Akinrinade appealed to media organisations to cover the event as the journalism community remembers one of Nigeria’s most celebrated journalists four decades after his killing.