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A teacher rescued after spending 56 days in the custody of kidnappers in Oyo State has revealed that their captors occasionally washed the victims’ clothes because they had become too dirty, dismissing claims that the abduction was staged.
Zachery Olatunde, one of the teachers abducted alongside pupils from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area, said the revelation was intended to counter social media allegations questioning the authenticity of the victims’ ordeal after they appeared relatively clean following their rescue.
Speaking in a video shared by Oyo Matters, Olatunde explained that the kidnappers washed their clothes whenever they became too dirty and the victims started smelling.
“The abductors are the ones that wash the clothes for us a few times while we were in captivity, when they notice that we are already smelling. Don’t they (critics) see how rough and dirty we the teachers were? Didn’t they see how rough our beards were, like that of a bush rat?” he said.
He described claims that the abduction was orchestrated as false, stressing that the tragedy claimed lives.
“Those saying the kidnapping was staged don’t know what they are saying. If it was staged, would they have killed two people? If it was staged, what we went through in that place was not good at all,” he said.
Olatunde also addressed criticism over the rescued pupils wearing matching native attire, explaining that it was in line with the Oyo State government’s directive for primary school pupils to wear traditional outfits on Fridays.
“They said the children were wearing matching ankara. Are they not in Oyo State? Don’t they know that the government has ordered that schoolchildren should be wearing native attires on Friday?
“Primary school pupils in private schools now wear native wears on Friday. We the teachers wore native attire, but secondary school pupils wore school uniform.”
He urged Nigerians to disregard the rumours, insisting the victims endured a genuine and traumatic experience.
“So those that are saying it was staged are all telling lies. It was not staged. It was real. So please stop saying those types of things.”
The victims were abducted on May 15, 2026, when gunmen attacked Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School in the Ahoro-Esiele and Yawota communities of Oriire Local Government Area.
Assistant Headmaster Joel Adesiyan was killed while trying to escape during the attack, while Mathematics teacher Michael Oyedokun was later beheaded in captivity.
The remaining victims regained their freedom on July 10 after a joint rescue operation involving the Nigerian Army, the Police, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Amotekun Corps and local vigilante groups. The Presidency said no ransom or concession was paid to secure their release.
