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The principal of Community Grammar School, Ahoro-Esiele, Racheal Alamu, has revealed how children abducted alongside teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State were brutally beaten into silence by their captors, while male teachers were blindfolded, handcuffed and chained throughout their 56-day ordeal in the forest.
Alamu made the disclosure on Monday after she, other rescued teachers and pupils, were officially received by Governor Seyi Makinde at the Governor’s Office in Ibadan, days after security operatives secured their release.
Recounting the ordeal, she said the victims spent most of their time in the open forest, exposed to harsh weather conditions while struggling to keep the children alive and emotionally stable.
“You can only imagine it. It was not easy. 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 knew it was only God that could help us, and we believed people were praying for us. That kept us going,” she said.
Alamu disclosed that although she escaped physical assault, several of the younger pupils were repeatedly beaten whenever they cried or made noise.
“Personally, I was not beaten, but some of the children were beaten. What they hated most was noise because they believed it could attract attention.
“The youngest children suffered the most. They would tie their mouths with pieces of cloth and beat them very well,” she said.
She added that the male victims endured even harsher treatment during the period in captivity.
“The men had it worse than us. They were blindfolded, handcuffed and chained on their legs,” she said.
Alamu, however, said none of the victims was sexually assaulted during the 56 days they spent in captivity.
She noted that the experience left lasting physical and emotional scars on both the children and their teachers before they were eventually rescued and reunited with their families.
