The board of inquiry investigating the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has asked for it to be given more time to carry out its duties. In this, it is supported by the family of the murdered journalist.

The government has so far accepted to have the deadline moved from September to 15 December, but the board has made it public that Prime Minister Robert Abela is insisting that this will be the only extension that will be granted. He wants the inquiry board to complete its work by that day.

The family and the board have objected to this one-time renewal, saying that more time is needed for all the witnesses to be called to give their side of the story and then time is needed for the board to draw up its report along with its recommendations.

Last Wednesday, the board said it had yet to receive a reply from the OPM about its request to have the possibility of going beyond the 15 December date. Maybe we will be given more information about this when another session will be held today.

In a nutshell, the board has been assigned to find out if the state could have done more to prevent the assassination. Caruana Galizia was killed in a car bomb soon after leaving her residence in Bidnija on 16 October, 2017. Three men have been charged with the murder while another is being accused of being the mastermind behind the crime.

Most of the hearings have been held in public, although there have been a few occasions when witnesses testified behind closed doors. What has emerged so far is shocking, and more details are expected in the sittings that remain.

But, aside from this, the question that needs to be answered is whether the board will have enough time to complete its mission in full. Each sitting is opening up more than one avenue of investigation, and the Caruana Galizia lawyers expect to be given the opportunity to explore them in search for more information.

Maybe the board should not have been specific in indicating the date by which it wanted to extend its deadline. It should have left its request open-ended, rather than provide a date and believing that if the December deadline would not be enough, it could request another cut-off date. Instead, it allowed Abela to pounce on the suggestion and quickly agree to it. Of course, Abela does not want the investigation to drag on and its conclusions published close to the election, expected in the next 18 months or so.

But, in the interest of justice, the inquiry should be given all the time it needs to accomplish its task. Let us not forget that it lost three months of investigation because of restrictions imposed by the health authorities as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Other than that, no time was wasted, and up to three hearings per week have been held for the members of the board, as well as the Caruana Galizia lawyers, to ask relevant and pertinent questions.

It has been nearly three years since Daphne was killed, but less than a year since the inquiry started. The family will be the first to say that they would like the inquiry to come to an end, possibly with many answers, but not before all angles are covered.