Veteran journalist and co-founder of Newswatch, Dan Agbese, has died at the age of 81.
According to TheNews Magazine. Agbese passed away on Monday morning, as confirmed by family sources.
Agbese remained a towering presence in Nigeria’s media landscape long after he first walked into a newsroom. Celebrated as a master stylist and one of the country’s most influential public affairs commentators, his name became synonymous with depth, clarity and courage in journalism.
Born on 20 May 1944 in Agila, now in Benue State, Agbese launched his career after studying Mass Communication at the University of Lagos. He later earned a master’s degree in Journalism from Columbia University in New York and received further professional training at the Thomson Foundation in Cardiff, United Kingdom.
He began his working life at the New Nigerian and Nigeria Standard newspapers, but his defining moment came in 1984 when he teamed up with Dele Giwa, Ray Ekpu and Yakubu Mohammed to establish Newswatch, the trailblazing weekly magazine that set the benchmark for investigative journalism in Nigeria. Over the decades, he served the publication in several pivotal roles, including Managing Editor, Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Editor-in-Chief.
Agbese was also an accomplished author whose works spanned political history and media practice. His books include Fellow Nigerians: Turning Points in the Political History of Nigeria, 1966–1999, Nigeria Their Nigeria, Ibrahim Babangida: The Military, Politics and Power in Nigeria, and The Six Military Governors: Voices of History, among others.
