Palm Wine Tapper Executed Over N10,000 Ransom in Delta Bush Ambush

Armed assailants ambushed two palm wine tappers during their routine early-morning trek into the bush in Emuhu community, near Agbor in Delta State’s Ika South Local Government Area, on Thursday. The victims, known locally for their daily palm wine harvesting, were seized and dragged into dense forests spanning Delta and neighboring Edo State. One victim was later executed when his impoverished family scraped together just N10,000 for ransom, an amount the gunmen dismissed as an “insult” before shooting him dead. ​

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The kidnapping triggered a swift multi-agency response, with community leaders alerting troops from the 63 Brigade, Emuhu Vigilante Group, Anti-Cult Abavo, Operation Soup, and police units. Activist Harrison Gwamnishu coordinated the expansive search, which stretched from Emuhu through Abavo and Obi-Ayama into the Urhonigbe forest in Edo State. Rescuers located the surviving tapper there, severely dehydrated and traumatized, unable to walk unassisted; footage captured him collapsed on the ground, weakly begging for water. ​

The survivor, after receiving fluids and stabilizing, recounted the ordeal, detailing how his colleague met his end over the meager ransom offer. He is now under medical care as joint forces intensify patrols to hunt the perpetrators, who have long terrorized rural borders in the region.