[1] Newswatch was formed by Nigerian journalists Dele Giwa, Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese and Yakubu Mohammed in 1984,[2] and the first edition was distributed on 28 January 1985.

[4] However, in the first few months of the administration of General Ibrahim Babangida, who took power in August 1985, the magazine was shamelessly flattering.

It printed his face on the cover four times and even criticized "anyone who attempted to make life unpleasant for Babangida".

The magazine was forced to shut down for six months from April 1987 by the Babangida led-administration for publishing information from what seemed to be a harmless government White Paper.

[9] Bala Dan Abu, executive editor, was given the responsibility of building up the editorial team.