Rescued Oyo Teacher: ISWAP Abductors Freed Us Before Soldiers Came

One of the teachers abducted in Oyo State, Zacchaeus Olatunde, says he and other captives were freed by their kidnappers before security operatives later escorted them to safety.

Olatunde, who spent 56 days in captivity, spoke during a phone interview with Nigeria Info FM on Friday. He recounted how he and several pupils were seized from schools in Oriire Local Government Area in May.

According to him, the victims were kept blindfolded throughout their time with the abductors.

“We were blindfolded – not just a normal blindfold. We had no idea if we were still in Nigeria or taken to another country. At some point, we thought the government might have forgotten us,” he said.

The teacher stated that the kidnappers spoke Hausa, Nupe, English, and Yoruba, and identified themselves as members of the Islamic State West Africa Province, not Boko Haram.

“I was the last person captured at the school, and also the last to be released,” Olatunde added.

He credited prayers for their eventual freedom. “God answered the prayers people were offering for us,” he said.

Olatunde described harsh conditions but noted that the group was fed twice daily – morning and evening – on a diet of rice, beans, onions, margarine, and salt.

“We didn’t taste pepper throughout our stay,” he said. The teachers, he added, could not bathe or change clothes for the entire 56 days.

Prayer was initially banned. “After about a month, they allowed us to pray, but warned us not to mention Jesus or pray aloud,” he recalled.

Their release came without warning. Olatunde said the kidnappers’ commander arrived smiling and told them they had been freed. Because a handcuff key had broken earlier, he was the last to leave camp.

“One of them suggested cutting off my hand, but another said no. They eventually used a small rope to remove the handcuff,” he said.

After following the wrong path, he was called back at gunpoint by the commander, who then directed him to the right route. The freed captives trekked for close to an hour before the abductors provided motorcycles that took them near a village. From there, they walked another 90 minutes to meet government officials.

Olatunde said they were initially wary of the rescue team.

“The people spoke Hausa and the buses had no number plates, just Arabic inscriptions. We even asked for their ID cards. They kept telling us the government sent them.”

During the trek out, he helped younger pupils cross rivers, carrying one girl on his neck and using a stick to test the water depth.

He also explained how he was captured: arthritis in his left leg prevented him from running. He hid in grass, but a student’s glance gave him away. Ironically, he said medication from the kidnappers eased his arthritis. “The leg I had spent so much treating got better after they gave me one drug,” he said.

Olatunde said he has not received financial support since returning, adding: “The utmost support for now should be for my school.”

The abduction occurred in May when gunmen attacked schools in Oriire LGA. Governor Seyi Makinde confirmed the victims’ release after 56 days and called for a UN-backed probe, insisting Nigerians deserved a full account. He directed that the rescued persons receive medical and psychosocial care.

Reacting, Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga said the governor’s call for a UN investigation showed lack of confidence in Nigeria’s security agencies, stressing that the military had already explained the rescue operation.