Two police inspectors and four civilians have been reportedly killed in an attack by suspected bandits on Tse-Kaseve village in Anyagba Ward, Katsina-Ala Local Council, Benue State.
The incident occurred around 4:00 p.m. on Monday when armed bandits, said to have stormed the community on approximately 100 motorcycles, attempted to overrun the village market and attack residents.
A combined team of security personnel engaged the assailants in a gunfight.
According to a source, 11 Police Mobile Force (PMF) operatives on special duty in the area, alongside members of the Benue State Civil Protection Guard, confronted and repelled the attackers.
However, the bandits reportedly ambushed and killed two officers—Inspector Adams Saidu and Inspector Edem Endimon, both attached to 11 PMF, Calabar—and made away with their service rifles.
Police authorities confirmed that four civilians also lost their lives in the attack, while one injured victim is receiving treatment at Katsina-Ala Hospital.
Troops of the Nigerian Army, additional tactical units, other security agencies, and vigilante groups have since been deployed to the area to restore order and prevent further breaches.
Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.
Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.
He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.
Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).
He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.
He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.
Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.
