“Terrorists Released Us Before Soldiers Took Us Home” – Rescued Oyo Teacher

One of the teachers rescued after spending 56 days in the custody of kidnappers in Oyo State, Zacchaeus Olatunde, has claimed that he and the other captives were released by their abductors before security personnel eventually escorted them home.

Olatunde made the claim during a telephone interview with Nigeria Info FM aired on Friday while recounting the ordeal of teachers and pupils abducted from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.

According to him, the captives were permanently blindfolded throughout their captivity and were unable to determine where they had been taken.

“It is difficult to say on air, but I will just say what I can. When we were there, we were blindfolded, not an ordinary blindfold. We didn’t even know if we were in Nigeria or another country. We were just there. We were saying maybe the government had even forgotten us,” he said.

He said the abductors communicated in Hausa, Nupe, English and Yoruba and insisted they were members of the Islamic State West Africa Province.

“They said they are not Boko Haram. They said they are ISWAP. I was the last person who was captured in the school and I was the last person that was released,” he said.

Olatunde said despite the uncertainty, the captives remained hopeful that prayers offered on their behalf would secure their freedom.

“All I can say is that God answered all the prayers that people were praying for us,” he said.

Describing conditions in captivity, the teacher said the kidnappers ensured they were fed twice daily but placed strict restrictions on their religious practices.

“In terms of feeding, those people really tried for us, to be sincere. Right from the day we were abducted, they told us on the way that if we cooperated and the government cooperated, there would be no problem,” he said.

He added, “We were fed twice a day, morning and evening. We ate only rice, little beans, onions, margarine and salt. Throughout our stay there, we did not taste pepper.”

According to him, teachers were unable to bathe or wash their clothes throughout the 56 days in captivity.

“For the 56 days, we the teachers did not bathe. We did not wash our clothes,” he said.

Olatunde also recalled that the kidnappers initially prohibited them from praying.

“When we got there, they told us not to pray. After about a month, they allowed us to pray, but they warned us not to mention the name of Jesus and not to pray aloud,” he said.

He said their release came unexpectedly after the kidnappers’ commander informed them they were free.

“Until the last day when their commander came and was smiling and laughing and said we should thank God that we had been freed. The next thing they said was that we should open our eyes,” he said.

The teacher narrated that because a handcuff key had broken earlier in captivity, he became the last person to leave the camp.

“When they released us, everybody had gone. They said I could not carry the handcuff home because the key had broken. One of them suggested they should cut off my hand, but another said no. They later used a small rope to remove the handcuff,” he said.

He further claimed that after he attempted to follow the others, the kidnappers’ commander recalled him at gunpoint before directing him to the correct route.

“Their commander called me back. He pointed a gun at me and said, ‘Come.’ I thought I was going to die because I was the only one left in the bush. He asked where I was going, and when I said I didn’t know, he showed me the correct route and told me to follow where the others had passed,” he said.

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