Zacchaeus Olatunde, one of the teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, has offered a fresh account of how the victims left the kidnappers’ camp, debunking claims that they were rescued by security operatives.
NPO Reports recall that 56 days after their abduction in Community High School, Ikoyi-Ile, and Baptist Grammar School in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State on the 15th of May, 2026, the Presidency announced their rescue on the 10th of July.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga had disclosed that the rescue operation led to the arrest of eight suspected kidnappers and the killing of several others.
“In the course of the rescue operation, eight of the kidnappers were arrested and are now in SSS custody, while some of them were neutralised.
“There was no quid pro quo in the rescue, as one of the terrorists, a kingpin, that the kidnappers demanded his release, is being prosecuted for his atrocities.”
However, Olatunde during a telephone interview on Nigeria Info FM gave a detailed account of the harrowing weeks he and other victims spent in the kidnappers’ camp, describing the conditions of their captivity, the circumstances surrounding their release, and the long journey back to safety.
According to him, the victims remained blindfolded throughout their 56-day ordeal, leaving them completely unaware of where they had been taken.
“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.
The teacher claimed that the kidnappers spoke Hausa, Nupe, English and Yoruba and identified themselves as members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).
“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.”
Despite the uncertainty surrounding their fate, Olatunde said the captives remained hopeful that prayers offered by Nigerians would eventually secure their freedom. All I can say is that God answered all the prayers that people were praying for us.”
Recounting the events leading to their freedom, the teacher insisted that the captives were not rescued directly from the kidnappers’ camp.
Instead, he said the kidnappers themselves informed them that they were free to leave.
“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.”
Olatunde revealed that he was the last person to leave because the key to his handcuffs had broken earlier hence he couldn’t follow the other captives.
“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.”
“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.”
Olatunde disclosed that after being released, they trekked through the forest for close to an hour before the kidnappers arranged motorcycles to take them closer to a nearby village.
“We trekked for about 40 minutes to one hour before they provided motorcycles that took us close to the nearest village. They later stopped and told us they could not go further, so we trekked for another one and a half hours before we got to where the government people who came to rescue us were.”
According to him, security personnel only met them after they had already been released and had walked out of the forest.
Olatunde said the journey out of captivity was physically demanding, especially for the younger pupils.
“There were some children that could not walk. I carried one little girl on my neck. At the river, I used a stick to check the depth before helping the children and some adults cross safely.”
The teacher also narrated how he was captured after failing to escape because of arthritis in his left leg.
“I had arthritis on my left leg and couldn’t run. I hid under the grass because my clothes blended with it. A student who refused to leave me looked in my direction, and that was how their commander noticed me and ordered me to stand up.”
He further claimed that medication given to him by the kidnappers unexpectedly relieved the long-standing pain. “The leg that I had spent so much money treating got better after they gave me one drug.”
Despite surviving the ordeal, Olatunde said he is yet to receive any financial assistance from the authorities. “The utmost support for now should be for my school.” he said.