Veteran Journalist, Newswatch Co-Founder Dan Agbese Dies Aged 81

By: Olufemi Orunsola 

An iconic veteran journalist in the firmament of journalism practice in Nigeria, who in his lifetime, was the co-founder of Newswatch magazine, Dan Agbese has passed on at the age of 81.

OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA OTN News reports as gathered that Dan Agbese, who founded Newswatch with Dele Giwa, reportedly died in Lagos State on Monday morning.

Recall that Dele Giwa was killed by a parcel bomb in 1986, and the case remains unresolved to date.

The late Dele Giwa was assassinated by a parcel bomb in 1986, an incident widely linked in public discourse to the regime of then Military Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida, though no one has ever been officially prosecuted for the murder.

Family sources announced that Agbese, a veteran wordsmith, passed away this morning in Lagos State.

It would be recalled that Newswatch is a Nigerian weekly news magazine published by Newswatch Communications Limited in Nigeria.

The late journalism icon, Dan Agbese held degrees in mass communications and journalism from the University of Lagos and Columbia University, New York, respectively.

He was a former editor of The Nigeria Standard, the New Nigerian as well as former general manager of Radio Benue. Agbese was one of the founders of the trail-blazing weekly newsmagazine in Nigeria, Newswatch, where he was until April 2010, the Editor-in-Chief of the magazine.

The deceased veteran journalist would be remembered not only for his contributions to journalism in Nigeria but also journalism education as he, in his lifetime, authored several acclaimed books, including: Nigeria their Nigeria, Fellow Nigerians, The Reporter’s Companion, Style: A Guide to Good Writing and The Columnist’s Companion: The Art and Craft of Column Writing.