Sporadic gunshots caused panic in Benin City, Edo State, on Friday after officers of the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) opened fire to stop a fleeing articulated truck driver.
The incident began when the truck collided with a vehicle belonging to an NDLEA officer on the busy Upper Sakponba Road.
According to eyewitnesses, the driver refused to stop and continued his journey toward the nearby Oka Market.
An eyewitness, Frank, reported that the officer alerted his colleagues at the nearby state command headquarters.
In response, the officers fired shots into the air in an attempt to force the truck to stop.
The gunfire triggered commotion, with local traders and residents fleeing the area to avoid potential stray bullets.
An anonymous NDLEA officer explained that the situation was a minor traffic incident that escalated.
“It was a simple thing; the truck hit our men’s vehicle… but the driver refused to stop. That is why the men shot into the air to stop him,” the officer stated, adding that the driver continued even after several tires were deflated before he was eventually apprehended.
Edo State NDLEA Commander, Mitchell Ofoyeju, corroborated this account, stating that the gunshots were not intended to cause public alarm but were a necessary measure to stop an “errant driver.”
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.
