Fidelia Soriwei, Abuja
The principal of Community Grammar School, Ahoro-Esiele, Mrs Rachael Alamu, has recounted the harrowing conditions endured by pupils and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
She said they spent most of their 56 days in captivity exposed to harsh weather in the forest while struggling to keep the children safe.
Alamu spoke after she and the other victims were rescued and handed over to the Oyo State Government following a successful multi-agency security operation on July 10.
“You can only imagine, and imagining it is like reliving it. It was not easy. We were in the forest, in the open most of the time, under the sun, under the rain, with the children,” she said.
The principal said faith and the belief that people were praying for them helped the victims endure the ordeal. “We knew it was God that could really helped us. So that really helped us. And the fact that we believe that people are praying for us, that also helped us as well,” she added.
According to her, some of the younger pupils suffered severe beatings whenever they cried or made noise.
“Personally, I was not beaten, but some of the children were beaten. What they hate most is noise, that attracts attention. So the youngest of them, maybe the two, Waliyah and Salam, they were the ones that took the most of the beating. They would close their mouth, tie it with clothes, and beat them very well,” she said.
She also revealed that the male victims endured harsher treatment, saying many were blindfolded, handcuffed and chained.
Alamu said the captives were frequently moved through the forest at night to avoid detection, sometimes trekking for several hours.
“When the place is discovered, we have to move, and that starts around seven, eight in the night. Sometimes we walk three, four hours. That is most of the bruises you see on our bodies,” she said.
Recounting how they were taken deeper into the forest, the principal said the abductors initially used her vehicle before transporting the victims on motorcycles through remote routes known only to the kidnappers.
Alamu also explained why two teachers lost their lives during the captivity. According to her, the abductors believed killing the teachers would pressure authorities into meeting their demands.
“There are times that we have hope that we will all come out alive. The terrorists killed Mr Michael, the first teacher, on the second day of our abduction and Deacon, the second teacher, was killed on the first Sunday of June.
“They killed them purposely because they thought it would force the hand of the government to provide them whatever they wanted. They already knew that the whole world was interested in our case,” she said.
The victims, comprising 39 pupils and seven teachers, were abducted on May 15 when armed men attacked Ahoro-Esiele community. Among those killed were Mathematics teacher Michael Oyedokun, who was beheaded in captivity, and another teacher, Esiyan Adegboye, who was shot during the attack on the community.
President Bola Tinubu, who confirmed the victims’ rescue, said eight suspects were arrested while several others were neutralised during the operation carried out by security and intelligence agencies.
He also directed that the rescued pupils and teachers receive medical care and other necessary support.
The Nigerian Army said the rescue followed more than a month of coordinated intelligence-led operations involving the Office of the National Security Adviser, the Department of State Services, the Armed Forces, the Police, local vigilantes, hunters and Amotekun operatives.
The rescued victims were treated at a military hospital in Ibadan before being transferred to the Oyo State Government.
