Dele Giwa: Doctor recalls journalist’s final moments after parcel bombing
By Mercy Ajekigbe
Dr Dokun Adeleke, a member of the medical team that attended to journalist Dele Giwa after he was injured in a parcel bomb explosion at his home in Ikeja, Lagos, has recounted the late journalist’s final moments at First Foundation Hospital.
Adeleke shared his recollections at the launch of Dele Giwa’s Granite Journalism, a book edited by Giwa’s colleague, Ray Ekpu.
He recalled that he was on duty when a Kombi bus drove into the hospital compound at about 12:13 p.m.
“Someone rushed in, shouting that the vehicle was carrying Dele Giwa, who was injured by a bomb explosion,” he said.
Initially, Adeleke thought the announcement was a joke. But when he went outside, he realised the seriousness of the situation.
He saw Funmi, Giwa’s wife, bleeding from a cut, while the journalist was being carried under a white sheet. The medical team immediately rushed Giwa into the emergency room for treatment.
Despite the severity of his injuries, Adeleke recalled, Giwa asked after his daughter, Aisha, who had reportedly been crawling towards his study when the explosion occurred. She was a year old at the time.
The doctor recalled: “It was about 12:30 in the afternoon when a company bus was driven into First Foundation Medical Centre, Opebi, Ikeja,” he said.
“His two limbs were open, and he was bleeding. But he was still talking. He (Giwa) said, ‘Dokun, se mi o ni ku sha? (I hope I will not die?)’. I said, ‘I don’t know’,” he recalled.
The medical team tried to stabilise him, but his condition remained critical.
Describing the severity of Giwa’s injuries, Adeleke said he sometimes wondered whether the journalist’s death had spared him from a life marked by the consequences of those injuries.
He recalled that Giwa repeatedly expressed his desire to live and asked about his wife.
Adeleke said he tried to reassure the journalist that Funmi was nearby, hoping to comfort him during his final moments.
Despite the medical team’s efforts, however, Giwa could not be saved. He died at about 1 p.m.
On October 19, 2026, Dele Giwa was killed by a parcel bomb delivered in his home.
