Palm-Wine Tapper Rescue Kidnapped Army Officer in Delta

An army officer, Major Josiah, who was abducted in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State, has been rescued in Tuomo community with the help of a palm-wine tapper and local lumberers.

The officer was kidnapped on Sunday night when armed youths stormed his lodge, searched through his belongings, and whisked him away to the creeks of Burutu Local Government Area.

Community sources said he was later found in a canoe, bound and suffering from gunshot wounds to his leg and hands. According to accounts, a young girl who had gone to check her fishing net spotted him in the canoe and rushed to inform her father. The palm-wine tapper then went with his daughter to the location, freed the officer, and took him to his camp. He later sought assistance from lumberers in a nearby camp, who helped move the officer by canoe through a brook into the community.

Other residents also reported hearing the officer’s cries from the forest, prompting lumberers to trace the sounds and find him injured. He was taken to safety and transported into the community by canoe.

The Bomadi Division of the military Joint Task Force was alerted and subsequently took custody of Major Josiah.