BOMADI— Panic has gripped Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State following the abduction of a senior army officer, identified as Lt Colonel Josiah, from his lodge shortly after attending a wedding ceremony in the area.
The incident occurred in the early hours of yesterday at Bomadi, the council headquarters, prompting heavy patrols by soldiers of the Joint Task Force (JTF) across Bomadi and neighbouring communities.
According to findings, Lt Colonel Josiah had attended a marriage ceremony at Kpakiama, a nearby community, over the weekend before retiring to his lodge in Bomadi town.
Eyewitnesses revealed that the kidnappers, armed and in numbers, stormed the lodge around 2:00 am, moving from room to room. They reportedly seized the phones of other lodgers before forcing the officer outside at gunpoint.
“The kidnappers came to the hotel around 2 am. They searched all the rooms, collected phones, and dragged the officer out. They even fired a gun before speeding off with him. We later noticed bloodstains on the ground after they left,” a source who pleaded anonymity said.
By the following morning, the JTF reportedly recovered the vehicle used in the abduction. The car was found abandoned along the Tuomo–Ogbobagbene–Tamigbe–Torugbene–Ojobo road in nearby Tuomo community and has since been taken to the JTF base at Bomadi-Overside.
Meanwhile, tension remains high in Bomadi and adjoining areas, as residents fear possible military clampdowns or reprisals in the wake of the abduction.
