Sometime in 2025, Publisher of the EagleOnline, a Lagos-based digital media outfit, Mr Dotun Oladipo’s family escaped death by a small margin at the now notorious Otedola bridge, some metres to Berger on Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
It was a tanker explosion, an accident which had become a regular feature (the 18th) at that section of the ever busy interstate highway, consequently wasting many lives.
Oladipo’s loyal mechanic, who rushed to his aid on emergency request, was not as lucky; he lost his life in the confusion. The very passionate journalist mourned and paid a heartfelt tribute to him.
But a year and few months after the incident, the publisher has joined his faithful mechanic in the great beyond.
TheTabloid.net gathered that circumstance leading to the 56-year-old passing on Tuesday August 25, 2026 remains a subject of lamentation in its suddeness and painful finality, plunging Nigerian media community into untold heartache.
It was learnt that a few hours to his demise in a private hospital in Lagos, he showed no sign that he was wrapping up his journey. At 14:50 pm, he shared his newsletters for the day to all his contacts on whatsapp; he performed this daily rite as a matter of duty.
A horrified colleague and Publisher of the PRNigeria, Mr Yushau Shuaib explained that few hours to the tragedy, he had requested Oladipo to publish a report on a certain political development in Katsina State, leading to the arrest of security aides to the state Governor Dikko Radda.
“In his characteristically simple and professional manner, Dotun asked me to forward it to his Gmail address instead of the Yahoo account I had previously used. I obliged. Within minutes, the article was published, and a few hours later, he promoted it as the lead story in his WhatsApp news broadcast. That was Dotun: no bureaucracy, no excuses, no endless promises. If a material was newsworthy and suitable for his platform, he acted promptly,” he confirmed.
It was also learnt that the deceased was giving his word to an Abuja-based colleague about a rescheduled online meeting of the IPI Annual General Meeting Planning Committee, assuring him that he would be available at the new date which was last Thursday.
A member of the committee, who doubles as the Managing Editor (Northern operation) of The Nation newspapers, Alhaji Yusuf Alli, confirmed that “At 3.54pm, Editor Dotun Oladipo, in his humble manner, wrote on the committee’s WhatsApp platform: “This is noted with thanks, sir”, Alli, reacting to the news of Oladipo’s demise.
In a twist of irony, it was further learnt that when the news of a top Nollywood actor, Alhaji Taiwo Hassan famously called Ogogo, broke on Sunday, Oladipo did not only publish it, he also condoled and discussed the news with a colleague, who had no suspicion that Oladipo himself was also at the departure lounge.
On that black Tuesday of his exit, he was said to have woken up healthy and headed to the gymnasium for his regular physical fitness exercise, after which he returned home, set for office at
No 27, Joseph Odunlami Street, Off Thomas Salako Street, Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos State and resumed duty.
Oladipo’s fellow Editor at the Compass, Mr Gabriel Akinadewo was said to have broken the news to some members of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) hours after the incident.
A former Executive Editor (Publications) of the Tribune titles, Mr Folu Olamiti expressed his anguish over the news, saying he had spoken with the deceased just before he passed on, recalling Oladipo advising him to sleep early due to his advanced age being a septuagenarian.
Oladipo’s resourcefulness was revealed by another colleague, Alhaji Mojeed Jamiu who recalled how, last week, he interceded on behalf of some colleagues in a libel matter.
“He ensured that the case was resolved out of court! I can say a million nice and positive things about Dotun,” Jamiu stated.
The bereaved family’s residence at the OPIC axis of Isehri, Ogun State has since received an expected traffic of visitors on condolences visit to the widow, Mrs Taiwo Oladipo as well as the children. Some of Oladipo’s colleagues were said to have openly betrayed emotions during the visits.
The GOCOP has issued a statement in which it expressed sadness over the death of its former President between 2017 and 2021 during which he helped shape the Guild in its early years.
President, Danlami Nmodu, said Oladipo’s death was painful, saying
“Dotun played an important role in the development of GOCOP. He led the Guild for four years at a time when there was still a lot of work to be done to establish online publishers as an important part of the media. His contribution will always be remembered.”
Aside the GOCOP’s statement, President Bola Tinubu has also commiserated with Oladipo’s family in a release to that effect signed by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga.
“He was a committed journalist who devoted significant years of his life to informing the public and contributing to the development of our democracy,” he stated.
President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio similarly issued a release signed by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Hon Eseme Eyibo, who noted Oladipo’s contribution to digital journalism in particular and the media as a whole.
He remarked, “Dotun was a courageous, principled and dedicated journalist who devoted a significant part of his life to the pursuit of truth, responsible journalism and the advancement of the society.”
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-olu too attested to the deceased values, describing his death as heartbreaking just as he commiserated with the bereaved family.
According to the governor’s Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Mr Gboyega Akosile in his condolence message, Oladipo achieved remarkable feats in the course of his career.
“He made numerous positive impacts in his lifetime, contributing meaningfully to the the growth and development of journalism, especially with his pioneering work in online journalism in Nigeria,” he affirmed.
To a fellow journalist, Mr Bamidele Johnson, Oladipo’s death is a pain too difficult to bear. His consolation, however, lies on the deluge of tributes poured on the deceased, all testifying to his life of selfless service and commitment to humanity.
Johnson noted, “I have read many tributes to him and I haven’t found one that is dishonest, embellished or overstated. Not one. The consensus is that he was a good man. He was not perfect. Nobody is. But he was genuinely good; the kinda good that people recognise instinctively and which leaves a trail of gratitude in the lives of people who encountered it.”
Oladipo’s classmate and colleague at the Punch, Mr Remi Adelowo is equally consoled by the outpouring of tribute, all of which pointed out the late journalist’s inspiring human relations.
“I have called five colleagues this morning just to talk about Dotun Oladipo. It’s my own therapy to process and heal. Never met anyone who spoke negative of Dotun. As highly-connected as he was, Dotun remained as humble as they come,” he said.
Even at that, Bamidele, former editor of TheNews magazine, still grieved that Oladipo’s death was a punch below the belt and a knockout beyond imagination.
“Death stings. The death of the good ones stings like acid. It is not just that we have lost a friend, a colleague, a brother, a husband, a father or simply someone we knew. It is that we have lost a particular kind of human being, the sort whose actions make other people’s lives a little easier,” he wrote.
Oladipo was an alumnus of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital where he studied Mass Communication and graduated in 1992.
He worked at the Nigerian Tribune, the Newswatch, the Punch, the Saturday Tribune, the Nigerian Compass before he founded the EagleOnline in 2011 and later emerged president of the GOPOC.
He was founder of a body, the Innovative Media Partners Cooperative Multipurpose Society (IMPCMS) and mentor to young digital journalists, some of whom benefited from his kind heart which, they revealed, had helped their career growth through connections to places of influence.
It was further learnt that Oladipo’s first major encounter with hazards of his choice profession occured in 1998 while covering the restoration of President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone. He was detained alongside other journalists by forces loyal to Charles Taylor in Liberia. They were later rescued by Nigerian ECOMOG troops, with Oladipo sustained injuries.
The soft-spoken is survived by his widow popularly known as Ayaba and three children. His daughter graduated in 2025 at the University of Ilorin where he bagged a First Class in Chemical Engineering.
His family has announced September 10 and September 11 as funeral dates, starting with a Service of Songs at the DayStar Church at Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos followed by interment at the same venue.
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