JUST-IN: Newswatch Co-Founder, Yakubu Mohammed, Dies At 75

Co-founder of the defunct Newswatch Magazine, Yakubu Mohammed, has died at the age of 75.

His death came less than two months after the passing of another Newswatch co-founder, Dan Agbese, who died on November 17, 2025.

The veteran journalist had launched his memoir, ‘Beyond Expectations’, on November 4, 2025.

He was reportedly battling a prolonged illness before his death. As of press time, an official statement from his family had not yet been released.

Born on April 4, 1950, Mohammed hailed from Ologba in the Dekina Local Government Area of present-day Kogi State. He held a bachelor’s degree in science and received his early education at St. Joseph’s Primary School, Ayangba, in 1964, before attending Government Secondary School, Okene, from 1965 to 1969.

He later studied at the University of Lagos from 1972 to 1975 and at the Glasgow College of Technology in Scotland between 1978 and 1979.

Mohammed’s journalism career spanned several decades. He served as associate editor at New Nigerian Newspapers from 1976 to 1980, became managing editor in 1980, and later worked as deputy editor at National Concord between 1980 and 1982.

He was the editor of National Concord from 1982 to 1984, before co-founding Newswatch magazine, where he served as executive editor from 1984 to 1986.

He later became the managing editor of Newswatch from 1986 to 1994 and subsequently served as the deputy chief executive officer of Newswatch Communications Limited from 1994. Beyond journalism, Mohammed was a director at Yadara Nigeria Limited and Lastop Limited.

He was a member of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Commonwealth Journalists’ Association, and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE). He also served as pro-chancellor and chancellor of the governing council of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.