Oyo principal shares harrowing experience of kidnap ordeal

The principal of Community High School, Ahoro-Esinele, in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, Rachael Alamu, has shared how kidnappers forced pupils and teachers to walk through thick forests at night for almost two months while escaping from security forces.

Mrs Alamu spoke about her experience during an interview with journalists at the Oyo State Government House in Ibadan on Monday. She and 43 other victims were returned to the state government after being rescued on 10 July.

She explained that the kidnappers moved them around a lot whenever they thought security was getting close. Even the youngest pupils had to make tiring journeys through the forests.

"There were times we had to move from one place to another. Once they believed the place had been discovered, we would start moving around 7:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m.," she said.

"Sometimes we walked for three to four hours at night. That is why you can see bruises on our bodies."

Mrs Alamu described the constant movement through the forest as one of the toughest parts of their 56 days in captivity. The kidnappers sometimes carried the three youngest children, while older pupils had to walk long distances despite feeling tired.

"They carried the youngest three children. The secondary school girls carried some of the smaller pupils, while the others had to walk. We fell many times," she said.

She added that they spent most of their time exposed to bad weather in the forest.

"We were in the forest, in the open most of the time, under the sun and under the rain with the children. But we kept going because there was no way out. We believed only God could help us, and we also believed people were praying for us," she said.

Mrs Alamu explained that the kidnappers first took them from their schools in her vehicle but later abandoned it and led them deeper into the forest. They initially walked for about an hour before the kidnappers put them on motorcycles for a more than four-hour ride through rough terrain.

"We rode motorcycles for more than four hours through difficult terrain, but they knew the forest very well," she recalled.

She also mentioned that the kidnappers gave them biscuits during the first week. But the food stopped coming as the days went by.

The experience has made her unsure about returning to a remote posting, even after nearly three decades in teaching.

"I have worked for 28 years and have about four years left. Maybe with time I will recover, but returning to such a remote area will take the grace of God," she said.

Mrs Alamu and over 40 pupils and teachers were freed after 56 days of being held captive. They were taken from schools in Oriire Local Government Area in May.

Their rescue followed weeks of coordinated efforts by the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Nigeria Police Force, State Security Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Amotekun Corps, local hunters, and vigilantes.

Unfortunately, the rescue came at a cost. Security personnel and three teachers, including the beheaded mathematics teacher, Michael Oyedokun, lost their lives during the abduction and rescue operations.

After the handover ceremony on Monday, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde announced that the rescued pupils and teachers would stay under medical observation for 48 hours before going back to their families.

PREMIUM TIMES learned that the victims were taken to the LAUTECH Teaching Hospital in Ogbomoso for medical check-ups and counselling.