A senior Army officer, identified as Lt.-Col. Josiah, has been abducted by gunmen in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State.
The incident, which occurred in the early hours of Monday at his lodge in Bomadi town, has thrown the riverside community into panic.
Soldiers attached to the Bomadi Division of the Joint Task Force (JTF) have since intensified patrols across Bomadi and neighbouring settlements.
Sources told reporters that Lt.-Col. Josiah had attended a wedding in Kpakiama, a nearby community, before returning to his lodge.
The sources further said around 2 a.m., armed men stormed the premises, ransacked the rooms, seized mobile phones from guests, and whisked the officer away.
Witnesses said the kidnappers fired several shots before escaping in a waiting vehicle, leaving bloodstains at the scene.
“The kidnappers arrived around 2 a.m., searched every room, collected phones, and dragged the Army officer outside. They shot into the air before speeding off,” an eyewitness recounted.
The following day, the JTF reportedly recovered the abandoned vehicle used in the abduction along the Tuomo-Ogbobagbene-Tamigbe-Torugbene-Ojobo road in Tuomo community. The vehicle has since been taken to the JTF base in Bomadi-Overside.
Residents have expressed fears of possible reprisals from the military, with tension mounting across Bomadi and surrounding areas.