Another Co-founder of Newswatch Magazine, Yakubu Mohammed, Passes On 

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

Yakubu Mohammed, a co-founder of Newswatch has passed on.

His death occurred a few weeks after the passing of Dan Agbese, one of the Magazine’s co-founders.

Newswatch was founded in in 1984, by the quartet of Dele Giwa, Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese and Mohammed. With the death of Mohammed, only Ekpu is alive of the original 8founders of the once celebrated weekly magazine.

Mohammed who was confirmed dead in the early hours of Wednesday January 14, 2026, battled an undisclosed ailment before giving up.

The late  Newswatch Magazine co-founder who hailed from  Ologba in Dekina Local Council of Kogi State began his journalism career at the New Nigeria Newspapers Kaduna ,and later the now rested National Concord owned by late Moshood Abiola.

At the Newswatch, Mohammed served variously as Executive Editor , Deputy Managing Editor and Managing Editor contributing immensely to the realization of the vision and mission of the Newsweekly .

Besides his well documented exploits in the journalism profession , Mohammed also briefly ventured  into partisan politics.

He was a one time gubernatorial aspirant in Kogi state on the platform of the Peoples Democratic party PDP.

He served as Pro-Chancellor of the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, and was known to have played a significant role in the creation of Kogi state.

In his recently released memoir “Beyond Expectations” Mohammed offered insights into the  Nigerian journalism ,the political climate ,the circumstances surrounding the death of Dele Giwa through a parcel bomb in 1986 ,and the birth of Newswatch Magazine which he attributed to the disagreements with the publisher of the National Concord, M K O Abiola .

Until his death , Mohammed was fully involved in the legal battles to the founding leaders to reclaim Newswatch from Senator Jimoh Ibrahim .