Updated: Kidnapped army commander in Delta community rescued, rushed to hospital

A community source, who spoke to Vanguard following his rescue, said the army officer was found in the deep forest of Tuomo community, where the car in which the kidnappers carried out the operation was abandoned.

How Major Josiah was rescued

Two village sources, who narrated their variant accounts, said: “A young girl left her father’s palm-wine camp in a canoe early this morning to check her fishing net, and in the process of checking the nets she saw the army officer sitting inside a canoe in the distance. She rushed back home to tell her dad what she had seen.

“Her father, on getting the news, followed his daughter to the scene and found Major Josiah sitting in the canoe, whose hands were tied to one of the canoe seats. He also sustained gunshot wounds to one of his legs and hands.

“The palm-wine tapper untied him and took him to his camp. He went to another camp belonging to lumberers and told them the situation. You know, this is flood season and they brought him in a canoe through the brook that leads to the community this morning.”

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The second source, who also spoke to Vanguard on the rescue of Major Josiah, said: “The army officer was heard shouting and wailing in the deep forest of Tuomo community. That is the forest where palm-wine tappers and lumberers establish their camps.

On hearing the anguished cry from a distance, some lumberers decided to trace the voice to the location, and on getting there they saw the man who had gunshots on one of his legs and hands.

“They took him to a palm-wine tapper’s camp and narrated the situation to him. They decided that they would bring him to the community. They took him in a canoe and rowed through the brook to the community this morning.