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One of the teachers abducted from Oriire School in Oyo State, Mr. Zacchaeus Olatunde, has revealed that the terrorists who held him and other victims for 56 days released them without collecting ransom after security forces allegedly arrested members of their families.
Olatunde, who spoke after regaining freedom, said the abductors told the captives they were being released in the hope that their detained relatives would also be freed.
According to him, the terrorists insisted throughout their captivity that they were not interested in money but wanted the release of their family members who had been arrested by the military.
“They told us to go because the military had arrested their families. They said if they released us, their own families would also be released,” he said.
He disclosed that the abductors directed the victims along a route leading to two streams, after which they encountered soldiers who had been waiting to receive them.
Olatunde said many of the children were too weak to walk after the prolonged captivity, adding that he helped carry several of them across the streams before they reached the waiting security personnel.
The teacher also recounted the circumstances surrounding the deaths of two fellow captives, Mr. Michael Oyedokun and Deacon John Olaleye.
According to him, the terrorists accused Oyedokun of disobeying their instruction to surrender all mobile phones when they were first abducted.
He said the abductors allegedly discovered a phone in Oyedokun’s pocket after arriving at the forest, an act they regarded as defiance of their orders.
Olatunde further alleged that Olaleye was later killed after the terrorists claimed that security forces had ignored their warning not to move close to their camp.
He said neither victim was killed in the presence of the other captives, although they heard their cries from a different location.
Describing their ordeal, Olatunde said the captives were kept in tents throughout the 56 days with their hands cuffed and their eyes blindfolded. He added that they were only allowed to use the toilet with the permission of their captors and were frequently moved from one location to another.
He said the captives were often beaten with guns and sometimes punished for actions allegedly committed by the children among them.
Olatunde also claimed that the terrorists regularly observed Islamic prayers and Qur’an recitations and allegedly prevented the Christian captives from praying, saying they were beaten whenever they were caught praying or calling on Jesus.
He said food was scarce and consisted mainly of plain rice or rice mixed with palm oil, with meat served only on rare occasions.
According to him, the terrorists’ attitude changed after learning that some of their relatives had been arrested by security forces, becoming less hostile towards the captives in the days leading to their release.
Olatunde said that after they arrived safely in Ibadan, military officers showed him photographs of suspected terrorists, and he identified one of his captors. He added that he was informed that eight suspected terrorists had been arrested while others had been neutralised.
Despite their freedom, Olatunde expressed sadness over the deaths of Oyedokun and Olaleye.
“We thank God that we survived, but we are deeply saddened that Mr. Michael Oyedokun and Mr. John Olaleye did not return with us,” he said.
