Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has described the death of The Guardian Newspapers correspondent in the state, Mr Joseph Wantu as shocking.

Wantu died in Makurdi, the state capital, earlier last week after a brief illness.

Read Also: Buhari mourns Queen Elizabeth II

His Chief Press Secretary, Nath Ikyur said in Makurdi that Ortom lamented that the late Wantu died at a time when his services were most needed.

He described Wantu as a professional journalist who plied his trade diligently, adding that “he was a gentleman who was thorough, fair and firm in the discharge of his duties.”

He expressed condolences to The Guardian Newspapers, the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the members of his immediate family, even as he told them to take solace in the fact that the late Wantu lived an exemplary life worthy of emulation.