A co-founder and former deputy chief executive officer of the once popular Newswatch Yakubu Mohammed, has died at the age of 75.
It was learnt that the late senior journalist died after battling an undisclosed ailment before his death.
His death marks another significant loss to the magazine’s founding generation.
Mohammed’s death comes barely two months after that of a fellow Newswatch co-founder, Dan Agbese, who died after a prolonged illness on November 17, 2025.
Mohammed’s last public outing was in October last year during which he published his memoir, Beyond Expectations.
The book had a chronicle of the history of Newswatch and the personal insights into the magazine’s formative years.
Beyond Expectations also recalled major moments in Newswatch’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.
Mohammed Agbese, Ray Ekpu and Dele Giwa founded Newswatch in 1984, making the magazine a commanding read in investigative journalism during Nigeria’s military era.
The late senior journalist was born on April 4, 1950.
Mohammed hailed from Ologba in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State, 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.
He started journalism at the New Nigerian Newspapers, where he held the position of Associate Editor from 1976 to 1980 and Managing Editor in 1980.
Mohammed moved to the National Concord as Deputy Editor, a position he held from 1980 to 1982, he became the Editor and served from 1982 to 1984.
At Newswatch, Mohammed was 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 journalism, Mohammed was a director at Yadara Nigeria Limited and Lastop Limited as well as a member of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, the Commonwealth Journalists’ Association, and the Nigerian Guild of Editors.
The veteran journalist was a Pro-Chancellor and Chancellor of the Governing Council of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
