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One of the teachers rescued after spending 56 days in captivity following the mass abduction of pupils and staff in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State has claimed that the kidnappers released the victims before security operatives eventually escorted them to safety.
Zacchaeus Olatunde, who was among the teachers abducted alongside pupils from three schools in May, made the revelation during a telephone interview with Nigeria Info FM on Friday.
His account offers one of the most detailed firsthand descriptions yet of the ordeal endured by the captives before they regained their freedom.
According to Olatunde, the victims remained blindfolded throughout their captivity, leaving them completely unaware of their location.
He said they could not determine whether they were still within Nigeria or had been moved across the country’s borders.
“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 disclosed that their abductors spoke Hausa, Nupe, English and Yoruba, insisting they identified themselves as members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) rather than Boko Haram.
“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,” Olatunde said.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding their fate, he said the captives never abandoned hope, attributing their eventual freedom to the prayers offered on their behalf by family members, religious groups and well-wishers.
Olatunde also described the living conditions in captivity, stating that although the abductors provided food twice daily, they imposed strict controls on the victims’ religious activities.
According to him, the meals consisted mainly of rice, beans, onions, margarine and salt, with pepper never included throughout the 56-day ordeal.
“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,” he said.
He added that the kidnappers initially prohibited the captives from praying before later relaxing the restriction 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 recalled.
The teacher said the captives’ release came unexpectedly when the kidnappers’ commander informed them they were free to leave.
He disclosed that he was the last to depart because a broken handcuff delayed his release, adding that one of the kidnappers even suggested amputating his hand before another proposed removing the restraint with a rope.
Olatunde further shared that after leaving the camp, the freed victims trekked for nearly an hour before the kidnappers arranged motorcycles that transported them close to a nearby village.
They then continued on foot until they eventually encountered security personnel.
“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,” he said.
He disclosed that the victims were initially sceptical of the security personnel because they were communicating in Hausa and arrived in buses without number plates, forcing the former captives to demand proof of identity before agreeing to follow them.
Olatunde further recounted helping younger pupils navigate rivers during the long journey out of the forest, carrying one young girl on his shoulders while using a stick to test the depth of the water before assisting other children and adults across safely.
The teacher also revealed how arthritis in his left leg prevented him from escaping during the initial attack on the schools, leading to his capture.
Surprisingly, he claimed medication provided by the kidnappers significantly eased the condition after years of unsuccessful treatment.
Despite surviving the ordeal, Olatunde said he had yet to receive any financial assistance, stressing that the immediate priority should be rebuilding and supporting the affected school community.
The pupils and teachers were abducted in May after heavily armed men invaded schools in Oriire Local Government Area.
They regained their freedom after 56 days in captivity, with Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde announcing their release and directing that the victims receive medical care and psychosocial support.
The governor also called for a United Nations-backed investigation into the circumstances surrounding the abduction, while the Presidency maintained that Nigeria’s security agencies had already provided a full account of the rescue operation.
