The Guardian was established in 1983 by
Alex Ibru, an entrepreneur, and Stanley Macebuh, a top journalist with the
Daily Times newspapers, with its model copied from
The Guardian in the UK.
The Guardian was a pioneer in introducing high-quality journalism to Nigeria with thoughtful editorial content. The paper was first published on 22 February 1983 as a weekly, appearing on Sundays. It started daily publication on 4 July 1983. During the administration of General
Muhammadu Buhari, reporters Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor were both sent to jail in 1984 under Decree No. 4 of 1984, which suppressed journalistic freedom. On 26 August 1989
The Guardian published a long letter by Dr.
Bekolari Ransome-Kuti, a human-rights activist, entitled "Open Letter to President Babangida", in which he criticized what he saw as increasing government suppression of free expression of ideas. The owner,
Alex Ibru, escaped an assassination attempt during the military regime of General
Sani Abacha. On 2 February 1996 his car was fired upon and Ibru was hit. He was rushed to the hospital with one of his eyes dangling from its socket. Following Abacha's sudden death in June 1998, legal proceedings began against his son
Mohammed Abacha and his Chief Security Officer Major
Hamza al-Mustapha. Eventually, in December 2010 a Lagos High Court acquitted those accused of the attempt. == Content ==