…Kill One After Family Offers Only N10,000 Ransom
Terrorists on Thursday abducted two palm-wine tappers in the Emuhu community near Agbor, Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State, killing one of them after his family reportedly offered only N10,000 as ransom.
The victims, known for their routine of trekking into the bush at dawn to tap palm wine, were ambushed by armed men said to have been terrorising rural settlements across Delta and neighbouring Edo State.
A video obtained by Newsmen shows the surviving victim lying on the ground moments after security forces rescued him, visibly weak, dehydrated, and pleading for water.
Community sources said the abduction triggered widespread alarm, prompting local vigilantes and security agencies to launch a coordinated search. Troops of the 63 Brigade, members of the Emuhu Vigilante Group, Anti-Cult Abavo, Operation Soup, and multiple police units combed areas stretching from Emuhu to Abavo, Obi-Ayama, and the dense Urhonigbe forest in Edo State.
The rescue team eventually found one of the abducted men alive in Urhonigbe. He was unable to walk without assistance and was immediately taken for medical treatment.
Upon regaining some strength, he narrated the ordeal, revealing that the kidnappers became enraged after his colleague’s family—too poor to raise more—offered only N10,000. The abductors allegedly described the amount as an “insult” before shooting the victim dead.
Security expert Zagazola Makama confirmed the incident on Friday, describing it as yet another grim reminder of the insecurity ravaging rural communities.
“This is the painful reality our people are facing,” a member of the rescue team lamented. “Families too poor to pay ransom, communities living in fear, and criminals treating human lives as bargaining chips.”
Security forces say operations are ongoing to track down the killers.
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