Newswatch Magazine

Dan Agbese, co-founder of Nigeria’s trailblazing Newswatch magazine and one of the country’s most influential journalists, has died in Lagos at age 81.

Dan Agbese, one of Nigeria’s most respected journalists and a co-founder of the influential Newswatch magazine, has died at the age of 81. Family members confirmed that he passed away on the morning of Monday November 17, 2025, in Lagos, marking the end of a storied career that helped shape modern Nigerian journalism.

Agbese emerged as a central figure in the country’s media landscape during a period when independent reporting was often fraught with political pressure and