The rescued principal of Community High School in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, Mrs Rachael Alamu, has provided insights into why kidnappers killed two of the teachers abducted alongside her and the pupils. The deceased educators were identified as Mr Michael Oyedokun, a Mathematics teacher who was beheaded in captivity, and Mr Esiyan Adegboye, 49, who was shot dead during the initial invasion of the school. Mr Adegboye was buried in Ogbomoso on May 22.
Mrs Alamu made this disclosure while addressing journalists on Monday. The principal, alongside other rescued children and teachers, was formally received by Governor Seyi Makinde at the State Government House.
Recounting the tragic loss of her colleagues, Alamu stated, "There are times that we have hope that we will all come out alive. The terrorists killed Mr Michael, the first teacher, on the second day of our abduction and Deacon, the second teacher, was killed on the first Sunday of June. They killed them purposely because they thought it would force the hand of the government to provide them whatever they wanted. They already knew that the whole world was interested in our case. We have scars already, and we believe that God will heal us. We appreciate everyone that contributed to this success."
Describing their ordeal, the school principal explained that the victims spent the majority of their 56 days in captivity within the open forest, exposed to harsh weather elements while trying to keep the children alive and emotionally stable.
She said, "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,"
Alamu also disclosed that although she was not physically assaulted, several of the younger pupils were subjected to severe beatings whenever they cried or made noise.
The rescued pupils and teachers were handed over to the Oyo State Government by the Federal Government on Monday. A video shared by Oyo Affairs showed the rescued victims as they alighted from a van under heavy security provided by military personnel upon their arrival at the secretariat. The footage captured the victims stepping out of the vehicle while armed security operatives escorted them into the government facility.
This development follows the Federal Government’s announcement on Friday that security agencies had successfully secured the release of all the abducted pupils and teachers after more than 50 days in captivity. Prior to Monday’s official handover, the rescued pupils and teachers had been receiving medical treatment and psychosocial support at the Military Hospital in Ibadan, where Governor Seyi Makinde visited them on Saturday. Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, also visited the rescued victims during their recovery period at the Military Hospital.
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