Yakubu Mohammed, a co-founder of Newswatch magazine and its former deputy chief executive officer, has died at the age of 75.
Mohammed was said to have battled an undisclosed illness before his death. As of the time of filing this report, his family had yet to release an official statement.
His passing comes barely two months after the death of his long-time colleague and fellow Newswatch co-founder, Dan Agbese, who died on November 17, 2025, after a prolonged illness.
In October 2025, Mohammed published his memoir titled Beyond Expectations. The book documented the early years of Newswatch magazine and gave personal accounts of key moments in its history.
The memoir revisited major events in the life of the magazine, including the controversy surrounding the 1986 assassination of its founding editor-in-chief, Dele Giwa, and the internal struggle that followed over the control of the influential publication.
Mohammed founded Newswatch in 1984 alongside Agbese, Ray Ekpu and Dele Giwa. The magazine became one of Nigeria’s most respected platforms for investigative journalism, especially during the military era.
His death marks another major loss to the founding generation of the magazine.
Born on April 4, 1950, Mohammed was from Ologba in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State.
He attended St Joseph’s Primary School, Ayangba, in 1964, Government Secondary School, Okene, from 1965 to 1969, and the University of Lagos between 1972 and 1975. He also studied at the Glasgow College of Technology in Scotland from 1978 to 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 moved to National Concord, where he was deputy editor from 1980 to 1982 and editor from 1982 to 1984.
At Newswatch, he served as co-founder and executive editor from 1984 to 1986, managing editor between 1986 and 1994, and later as deputy chief executive officer of Newswatch Communications Limited from 1994.
Outside journalism, Mohammed was a director at Yadara Nigeria Limited and Lastop Limited.
He was a member of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, the Commonwealth Journalists’ Association and the Nigerian Guild of Editors.
The veteran journalist also served as pro-chancellor and chancellor of the governing council of Ahmadu Bello University.
