Co-founder of Newswatch magazine and its former deputy chief executive officer (DCEO), Yakubu Mohammed, has passed away. He died at the age of 75.
He was reported to have been battling an undisclosed ailment prior to his death.
News of his death comes about two months after the passing of his long-time colleague and fellow Newswatch co-founder, Dan Agbese, who died after a prolonged illness on November 17, 2025.
Mohammed, in October 2025, published his memoir, Beyond Expectations, which chronicled the history of Newswatch and offered personal insights into the magazine’s formative years. The book revisited major moments in the publication’s journey, including the controversy surrounding the 1986 assassination of founding editor-in-chief Dele Giwa and the subsequent struggle for control of the influential magazine.
He, alongside Dan Agbese, Ray Ekpu and Dele Giwa, founded Newswatch in 1984, establishing it as a leading voice in investigative journalism during Nigeria’s military era. His death marks another significant loss to the magazine’s founding generation.
Born on April 4, 1950, Mohammed hailed from Ologba in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, Nigeria. He attended St Joseph’s Primary School, Ayangba, in 1964; Government Secondary School, Okene, between 1965 and 1969; the University of Lagos from 1972 to 1975; and the Glasgow College of Technology in Scotland between 1978 and 1979.
Mohammed began his journalism career at the New Nigerian Newspapers, where he served as associate editor from 1976 to 1980 and managing editor in 1980. He later joined National Concord as deputy editor between 1980 and 1982, becoming editor from 1982 to 1984.
At Newswatch, he served as co-founder and executive editor between 1984 and 1986, managing editor from 1986 to 1994, and deputy chief executive officer of Newswatch Communications Limited from 1994.
Apart from his stint in journalism, he was a director at Yadara Nigeria Limited and Lastop Limited. He was also a member of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, the Commonwealth Journalists’ Association, and the Nigerian Guild of Editors.
Mohammed also served as pro-chancellor and chancellor of the governing council of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU).