Gunmen have kidnapped a female student identified as Doris Jonathan Oke, while a stray bullet killed a woman in Ogwashi-Uku, Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State.

It was gathered that the Higher National Diploma Mass Communication student at the Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-Uku, was abducted when the gunmen failed to secure a male target who was with her.

The incident happened along the polytechnic road on Wednesday night, February 5, 2025.

A community source, who craved anonymity for safety reasons, told Punch that the gunmen blocked the vehicle and shot indiscriminately before abducting the student after their perceived target managed to escape.

“The man was driving along the polytechnic road when the group of about five men blocked his vehicle and started shooting. The man managed to open the door and ran into the bush,” the source said.

“But the girl at the driver’s side could not escape as the man did, and the hoodlums carried her away after raining bullets on the vehicle.

“It was like a war zone last night in Ogwashi-Uku and people were running, scaping for safety. As this afternoon, they made a demand of N10 million ransom.”

Another source, who carved anonymity over security concerns, disclosed that a stray bullet killed a woman and injured another man during the shooting.

“During the shooting, a stray bullet killed a woman who owns a shop under the power line and one man was also hit by a bullet in the leg before abducting the girl,” the source added.

The Chairman, Ogwashi-Uku vigilante group, Mr Hery Chukwuka who confirmed the abduction and killing, said that the Lexus 330 vehicle involved had already been parked at the Ogwahi-Uku station.

Spokesperson for the state police command, Bright Edafe said he couldn’t confirm the student’s abduction but there was an attempted kidnap.

“There was an attempted kidnapping and the man ran away and abandoned his car. We have recovered the car at the police station. We have been calling the number of the man but it’s switched off. If we see him, he will be able to explain what happened.”