BREAKING: Palm-Wine Tapper, Lumberers Rescue Kidnapped Army Commander in Delta Creek

In a dramatic twist of fate, an abducted Nigerian Army officer has been rescued in the heart of Delta State’s notorious creeks—not by a tactical military squad, but by a palm-wine tapper and local lumberers.

Major Josiah, a senior army commander, was kidnapped on Sunday night in Bomadi Local Government Area by armed youths who stormed his lodge, ransacked his belongings, and whisked him into the thick creeks of Burutu Local Government Area.

Community sources confirmed that the officer, bound and injured, was found deep inside Tuomo community forest after a palm-wine tapper’s daughter made the startling discovery.

> “The young girl had gone out early this morning in a canoe to check her fishing net when she spotted a man sitting helplessly inside another canoe. She rushed back to inform her father, who followed her to the scene. To his shock, he found the army officer, hands tied, bleeding from gunshot wounds,” a source told Vanguard.



The tapper reportedly untied the officer, sheltered him briefly in his camp, and sought assistance from nearby lumberers. Together, they ferried Major Josiah through winding brooks in a canoe and safely brought him to the community at daybreak.

Another eyewitness corroborated the account, stating that villagers had heard “agonizing cries” from the forest. “Some lumberers traced the wailing voice and found him badly wounded. They took him to a palm-wine tapper’s camp before deciding to bring him out in a canoe,” the source explained.

The rescue operation by the locals drew swift attention from the Bomadi Division of the military Joint Task Force (JTF), who immediately took custody of the officer and launched further investigations.

Major Josiah is said to be receiving medical attention, while security operatives have intensified efforts to track down his abductors.

The incident underscores both the growing wave of insecurity in Delta State’s riverine communities and the uncommon bravery of ordinary villagers who risked their lives to save a soldier in distress.