Suspected terrorists kidnapped two palm-wine tappers on Thursday, in the Emuhu community, near gborthe, in Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State.
First Daily correspondent learnt that the kidnappers killed one of the victims after his family was unable to raise just N10,000 for his release.
It was gathered that the victims, who left their homes for the bush to tap palm wine, were ambushed and whisked away by armed men who have been terrorising rural settlements around Delta and neighbouring Edo State.
A video seen by First Daily correspondent shows the surviving victim lying weak on the ground moments after his rescue, barely able to speak and pleading for water.
Community sources said the abduction sparked immediate alarm, prompting local leaders and security networks to swing into action.
Troops of the 63 Brigade, members of the Emuhu Vigilante Group, Anti-Cult Abavo, Operation Soup, and multiple Police units launched a coordinated search from Emuhu to Abavo, Obi-Ayama, and into the dense forest of Urhonigbe in Edo State.
Their efforts paid off in Urhonigbe, where one of the kidnapped men was found alive, traumatised, dehydrated, and unable to walk without support.
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When he regained enough strength to speak, he delivered the heartbreaking account of how his colleague was executed after his family offered only N10,000 that they could scrape together.
The kidnappers, angered by what they called an “insult,” allegedly shot the victim dead.
Security analyst and counter-insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama confirmed the development on Friday, describing it as another example of the brutal reality facing rural Nigerians.
“This is the painful reality our people are facing,” one member of the rescue team lamented. “Families too poor to pay ransom, communities living in fear, and criminals treating human lives as bargaining chips.”
The rescued victim is currently receiving medical care, while joint security forces are continuing operations to track down the assailants.