Dele Giwa: Ita-Giwa replies Omeben

Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, former wife of the late Editor-in Chief of Newswatch Magazine, Dele Giwa, has reacted to the recent remarks made by the former Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Chris Omeben, that the late Giwa was careless in maintaining a relationship with his former wife.
Mr. Omeben, who clocked 80, was in charge of investigating the murder of the late journalist in 1986.
Reacting to Omeben’s remarks through her Media Liaison Assistant, Jonathan Eze, Ita-Giwa described them as “indicative of a mind rapidly progressing into dementia and of somebody who is desperately trying to cover up his incompetence with regards to the case.”
She said, “The recent ‘revelations’ by Christopher Omeben, insinuating in one breath that Dele Giwa’s assassination via a parcel bomb may have been remotely connected to his ‘unhealthy relations with his estranged wife’ and in the next breath, he named Kayode Soyinka, Dele’s colleague, who was the only survivor and eyewitness of the dastardly act as the ‘prime suspect’, is indicative of a mind rapidly progressing into dementia.
“It is very possible that the aged former crime fighter is hallucinating on account of the blemish his shoddy handling of the case had cast on what might have been labelled an illustrious police career.
“It would appear that the former detective turned clergyman is now clutching at straws in a puerile attempt to cover up his crass incompetence with regard to the case. The pendulum of suspicion about the identity of the killers has always swung in one direction, which is well known to anyone who was around at the time the heinous act occurred.
“Just because Christopher Omeben lacked the courage at the time to pursue the obvious suspects at the time, does not give him a right to bandy spurious allegations in the twilight of his life. Senator Florence Ita-Giwa was never considered a person of interest in the immediate aftermath of the murder, so for her name to be linked to this most reprehensible crime nearly 30 years after, is preposterous to say the least.”
Ita-Giwa denied the allegation that her houseboy was the one who delivered the letter bomb to the late Giwa.
“The identity of the person who delivered the parcel bomb to the late Dele Giwa’s residence is now in the public domain, so to say that the senator’s houseboy delivered the parcel now is suggestive of the deterioration of the mental faculties of the former deputy inspector-general of police.
“At the time Dele Giwa died, the Senator had no knowledge of the location of his residence and had not met with him for at least one year before then. The separation of the Senator and the late Dele Giwa was devoid of any animosity. Indeed, she has no apologies to make for having a good relationship with Dele Giwa, even after their separation. As a matter of fact, Senator Ita-Giwa maintains very cordial relations with the siblings and children of the late great journalist to this day.
“The Senator wishes to inform the ageing clergyman that if the women in his locality kill their husbands, that is not the case where she comes from, because in her place, the women are famous for valuing their men.”
Copyright PUNCH