One of the teachers rescued after spending 56 days in the custody of kidnappers in Oyo State, Zacchaeus Olatunde, has revealed that he and other captives were released by their abductors before security personnel later escorted them back home.
Olatunde disclosed this during a telephone interview with Nigeria Info FM on Friday, where he narrated the ordeal of teachers and pupils who were abducted from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
He said the victims were kept blindfolded throughout their captivity, making it impossible for them to know their exact location.
“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.
The teacher stated that the abductors communicated in Hausa, Nupe, English and Yoruba languages 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,” he said.
Olatunde said the captives held on to hope through prayers, believing that efforts made on their behalf would eventually lead to their freedom.
“All I can say is that God answered all the prayers that people were praying for us,” he said.
Narrating their living conditions in captivity, he said the kidnappers provided food twice daily but restricted their religious activities.
“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.”
Olatunde explained that the teachers could not bathe or wash their clothes during the 56 days they spent with the kidnappers.
“For the 56 days, we the teachers did not bathe. We did not wash our clothes,” he said.
He also recalled that the abductors initially prevented them from praying but later relaxed the restriction under certain conditions.
“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.
According to him, their release came unexpectedly after the kidnappers’ commander informed them that 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 said he was the last captive to leave the camp because the key to his handcuff had broken during their stay.
“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 added that the kidnappers’ commander later directed him towards the route taken by the other captives after calling him back at gunpoint.
“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.
Olatunde said the former captives trekked for about an hour before motorcycles arranged by the kidnappers conveyed 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,” he said.
He disclosed that they initially feared the security personnel who arrived to take them home because of the language they spoke and the appearance of their vehicles.
“When we saw the buses, we were afraid because the people were speaking Hausa. We even asked them to show us their identity cards. They kept assuring us that the government sent them.
“The buses had no number plates and had Arabic inscriptions. We were afraid they wanted to take us somewhere else,” he said.
The teacher also narrated how he assisted younger pupils during their escape journey by helping them cross rivers safely.
“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,” he said.
Olatunde said he was captured after he was unable 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 said.
He further claimed that medication given to him by the kidnappers helped reduce the pain from the condition.
“The leg that I had spent so much money treating got better after they gave me one drug,” he added.
Despite his return home, Olatunde said he had not received any financial assistance and stressed that support for his school remained his priority.
“The utmost support for now should be for my school,” he said when asked about assistance from authorities.
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