Newspapers in Nigeria & their Publishers
This post contains a list of all newspapers in Nigeria, their publishers, locations as well as their first published issue, including print and online newspapers.
Newspapers in Nigeria have been used to act as voices over the years and some of them have done tremendously with their objectives while some are known, popular pro-government mouthpiece, known to defend the government they swear allegiance, regardless of misgovernance or misrule.
The “publish and be damned” principle of Nigerian newspapers started during the colonial era when founder fathers of today’s Nigerian press such as Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ernest Ikoli, Obafemi Awolowo and Lateef Jakande defied all odds and used their newspapers to fight for independence and the rights of the Nigerian people.
However, owing to the fast-growing influence of technology and modernisation across Nigeria, online newspapers have soared significantly in their numbers in the past decade. This means that media houses are now embracing online newspapers, more than prints and so are the Nigerian people.
Although there are some people who are still stuck or prefer the traditional print for record-keeping purposes, it has not been able to cushion the effect of newspaper vendors whose source of income are dependent on the number of papers they sell.
Online newspapers have become popular since the rise of internet accessibility in Nigeria; more than ten per cent of the top fifty websites in the country are devoted to online newspapers. Due to improved mobile penetration and the growth of smartphones, Nigerians have begun to rely on the internet for news.
Online newspapers have also been able to bypass government restrictions because content can be shared without the need for any physical infrastructure. The result has been a disruption of the traditional sources of news that have dominated the media industry.
Newspapers in Nigeria and their Publishers
Below is a list of newspapers publishers in Nigeria as well as their location and the date of their first publication:
| # | Newspaper | Location | First issued | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daily Times of Nigeria | Lagos | 9 June 1926 | Folio Communications |
| 2 | Sky News Nigeria | Lagos | December 2018 | Gbenga Odunsi |
| 3 | Tribune | Ibadan | 1949 | African Newspapers of Nigeria Ltd |
| 4 | Global Times Nigeria | Lagos | February 2020 | Gbenga Odunsi |
| 5 | Observer | Benin City | 1968 | Bendel Newspapers Company Limited |
| 6 | Punch | Lagos | 1971 | Ajibola Ogunsola |
| 7 | The Tide | Port Harcourt | 1971 | Rivers State Newspaper Corporation |
| 8 | The Standard | Jos | 1972 | Benue-Plateau Printing Publication Cooperation |
| 9 | Triumph | Kano | 1980 | Triumph Publishing |
| 10 | Guardian | Lagos | 1983 | Felix Ibru |
| 11 | National Post | Abuja | April 2021 | Akeem Adebayo |
| 12 | Newswatch | Lagos | 28 January 1985 | Global Media Mirror Limited |
| 13 | Tell Magazine | Lagos | 1991 | TELL Communications Limited |
| 14 | TheNEWS magazine | Lagos | 1992 | Independent Communication Limited |
| 15 | P.M. News | Lagos | 1994 | Independent Communications Network Limited |
| 16 | Thisday | Lagos | 1995 | Leaders & Company |
| 17 | Complete Sports | Lagos | 1995 | Sunny Obazu-Ojeagbase |
| 18 | Daily Trust | Abuja | 1998 | Media Trust Ltd |
| 19 | Sun | Lagos | 2001 | The Sun Publishing Ltd |
| 20 | Independent Nigeria (Lagos newspaper) | Lagos | 2001 | Independent Newspaper Limited |
| 21 | Independent | Lagos | 2001 | Independent Newspapers Limited |
| 22 | National Network | Port Harcourt | 2004 | Network Printing and Publishing Company |
| 23 | Next | Lagos | 2004 | Timbuktu Media group |
| 24 | Leadership | Abuja | 1 October 2004 | Leadership Group Ltd |
| 25 | Business Day | Lagos | 2005 | Frank Aigbogun |
| 26 | Mirror | 2006 | Global Media Mirror Limited | |
| 27 | Nation | Lagos | 2006 | Vintage Press Limited |
| 28 | Uhuru Times | Ogun | 2007 | Journal Communication Limited |
| 29 | Peoples Daily | Abuja | 30 November 2008 | Peoples Media Ltd |
| 30 | Newsdiary online | Abuja | 2009 | NewsDiary Communication Limited |
| 31 | Nigerian Entertainment Today | Lagos | 23 November 2009 | Adekunle Ayeni |
| 32 | TheCable | Lagos | 2011 | Cable Newspaper Ltd. |
| 33 | Premium Times | Abuja | 2011 | Premium Times Services Limited |
| 34 | Blueprint Newspaper | Abuja | May 2011 | |
| 35 | Opinion Nigeria | Abuja | January 2012 | Jeff Okoroafor |
| 36 | Entertainment Express | July 2011 | ||
| 37 | Daylight Nigeria | Lagos | January 2014 | |
| 38 | New Telegraph | Lagos | 3 February 2014 | The Telegraph Publishing Company |
| 39 | The Authority (newspaper) | Abuja | 2015 | The Authority Media & Publications Limited |
| 40 | Ripples Nigeria | Lagos | 2015 | Richmond Hill Media Limited |
| 41 | Stears Business | Lagos | 2015 | Stears News Limited |
| 42 | Politics Nigeria | Lagos | 2016 | Dumebi Emmanuel |
| 43 | Daily Nigerian | Abuja | 6 June 2016 | Penlight Media Limited |
| 44 | The Periscope News | Port Harcourt | 6 March 2019 | Mazi Obi Okoli |
| 45 | Sahara Reporters | Lagos | Omoyele Sowore | |
| 46 | Business Hallmark | Lagos | Prince Emeka Obasi | |
| 47 | Daily Champion | Lagos | Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu | |
| 48 | Daily Post | Lagos | 2011 | Daily Post Media Ltd. |
| 49 | Osun Defender | Osun | Moremi Publishing House Ltd. | |
| 50 | Nigeria CommunicationsWeek | Lagos | 2007 | Ken Nwogbo |
| 51 | National Network (newspaper) | Rivers State | 2004 | Network Printing and Publishing Company |
| 52 | New Nigerian | |||
| 53 | Nigerian Compass | Ogun State | 2008 | Gbenga Daniel |
| 54 | Urhobo Vanguard | Delta State | 2012 | Urhobo Vanguard Publishing Ltd |
| 55 | Thinkers Newspaper | Abuja | 2015 | Thinkers Communications Limited |
| 56 | National Mirror | 2006 | Jimoh Ibrahim | |
| 57 | The News Journal (Nigeria) | Ibadan | 2013 | Layipo Concept |
| 58 | Naijanews.com | Lagos | 2016 | Polance Media Ltd. |
| 59 | TheWill Newspaper | Lagos | 2009 | Austyn Ogannah O. |
| 60 | The ICIR | Abuja | 2010 | Dayo Aiyetan |
The oldest newspaper company in Nigeria
The oldest newspaper in Nigeria is Daily Times, by Folio Communications and it was established in 1926.