His passing has drawn attention to the timing of his final book, released in October 2025, in which he documented his life in journalism and the turbulent history of Newswatch magazine.
Yakubu Mohammed, a co-founder of Newswatch magazine and its former deputy chief executive officer, has died at the age of 75, just about three months after publishing his memoir, Beyond Expectations.
Mohammed was reported to have been battling an undisclosed ailment before his death.
As of press time, an official statement from his family was still being awaited.
His passing has drawn attention to the timing of his final book, released in October 2025, in which he documented his life in journalism and the turbulent history of Newswatch magazine.
Beyond Expectations chronicled the magazine’s formative years and offered Mohammed’s personal reflections on the struggles, sacrifices and defining moments that shaped one of Nigeria’s most influential news publications.
The memoir revisited major episodes in Newswatch’s history, including the controversy surrounding the 1986 assassination of founding editor-in-chief Dele Giwa and the subsequent struggle for control of the magazine.
For many in the media community, the book has now assumed added significance, standing as Mohammed’s last public account of events that defined an era of investigative journalism under military rule.
Mohammed’s death comes barely 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.
Together with Ray Ekpu and Dele Giwa, they founded Newswatch in 1984, establishing it as a leading voice in investigative journalism during Nigeria’s military era.
Born on April 4, 1950, Mohammed hailed from Ologba in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State.
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.
He 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, Mohammed 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.
Beyond 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.
The veteran journalist also served as pro-chancellor and chancellor of the governing council of Ahmadu Bello University.
With his death, Mohammed leaves behind not only a legacy of newsroom leadership, but also a memoir that now stands as his final testament to the ideals and battles that shaped Nigeria’s modern press.