One of the teachers rescued after spending 56 days in the custody of kidnappers in Oyo State, Zacchaeus Olatunde, has narrated the harrowing conditions they endured, saying the captives were permanently blindfolded and lived each day uncertain whether they would ever regain their freedom.
Olatunde made the revelations during a phone interview on Nigeria Info FM, which was released on Friday, as he recounted the ordeal of the teachers and pupils abducted from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
According to him, the captives were so heavily blindfolded that they had no idea where they had been taken.
“It is difficult to say on air, but I will just say what I can. When we were there, we were blind, 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.
Despite the trauma of the experience, Olatunde said the captives held on to hope, believing that prayers offered on their behalf would eventually be answered.
“All I can say is that God answered all the prayers that people were praying for us,” he added.
He also disclosed that the abductors communicated in Hausa, Nupe, English and Yoruba languages.
Speaking on their treatment in captivity, Olatunde said the kidnappers ensured they were well fed, insisting that cooperation from both the victims and the authorities was repeatedly emphasised.
“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.”
The rescued teacher also described their eventual freedom as nothing short of miraculous, revealing that the kidnappers initially banned them from praying.
According to him, after about a month, the captives were allowed to pray under strict conditions.
“The way we were rescued was miraculous. When we just got there, they told us not to pray, but after about a month, they told us we could pray, but not mention the name of Jesus, and we should not pray out loud.”
He said their release came unexpectedly when the leader of the kidnappers addressed them.
“Until the last day when their commander came and was smiling and laughing and said we should thank God that we had been freed. That was where we were. The next thing they said we should open our eyes…”
Olatunde did not disclose further details of the rescue operation.
LEADERSHIP reports that the victims were abducted on May 15, 2026, when heavily armed gunmen attacked three schools in the Ahoro-Esiele and Yawota communities of Oriire Local Government Area near Ogbomoso, Oyo State.
During the attack, the assailants killed the assistant headmaster of L.A. Primary School, Joel Adesiyan, while abducting 46 pupils and teachers, including school principal Folawe Alamu.
The victims spent 56 days in captivity before they were freed on July 10, 2026.
Since regaining their freedom, some of the rescued teachers have begun sharing details of their ordeal, including claims that the kidnappers occasionally washed their clothes after weeks in the forest to counter public speculation that their abduction had been staged.
The Federal Government on Friday also filed terrorism-related charges against three suspects alleged to have aided the kidnapping and maintained links with the terrorist group Ansaru, as investigations into the incident continue.
