Barely weeks after the death and burial of Dan Agbese, another co-founder of the iconic Newswatch magazine, Yakubu Mohammed, has passed away—leaving Ray Ekpu as the only surviving founder of the once-formidable news magazine.
The tragedy recalls the earlier loss of another co-founder, Dele Giwa, who was assassinated by a letter bomb on October 19, 1986.
Mohammed’s death comes less than two months after Agbese died on November 17, 2025. Alongside Dele Giwa and Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese and Yakubu Mohammed were pivotal figures in Nigerian journalism, co-founding Newswatch in 1984 and setting enduring standards for investigative reporting and media accountability.
Pressroom gathered that Mohammed died on Tuesday night.
He launched his memoir, Beyond Expectations, on November 4, 2025. Sources disclosed that he had been ill for some time before his passing.
Born on April 4, 1950, Mohammed hailed from Ologba, Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State.
He held a Bachelor of Science degree and received his education at St. Joseph’s Primary School, Ayangba (1964); Government Secondary School, Okene (1965–1969); the University of Lagos (1972–1975); and the Glasgow College of Technology, Scotland, United Kingdom (1978–1979).
His journalism career spanned several notable institutions. He served as Associate Editor at New Nigerian Newspapers (1976–1980), Managing Editor of the same organisation in 1980, Deputy Editor at National Concord (1980–1982), and Editor of National Concord from 1982 to 1984.
At Newswatch, Mohammed was Co-founder and Executive Editor (1984–1986), Managing Editor (1986–1994), and later Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Newswatch Communications Limited from 1994.
Beyond journalism, he was a Director at Yadara Nigeria Limited and Lastop Limited.
He was also a member of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Commonwealth Journalists’ Association (CJA), and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE).
Mohammed additionally served as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State.
His hobbies included playing tennis, dancing, listening to music, and watching movies.
