We Passed Through Hell: Oyo Teacher Recounts 56 Days of Horror in Kidnappers’ Den

We Passed Through Hell: Oyo Teacher Recounts 56 Days of Horror in Kidnappers' Den

We Passed Through Hell: Oyo Teacher Recounts 56 Days of Horror in Kidnappers’ Den

A teacher rescued after spending 56 harrowing days in captivity following the mass abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State has narrated the shocking circumstances surrounding their release, describing the moment terrorists’ commander appeared cheerful and announced they were free. The school counsellor, Mr. Olatunde Zaccheaus, spoke during a live telephone interview on Nigeria Info FM, recounting the ordeal that began on May 15, 2026, when armed gunmen stormed three schools in the Ahoro-Esiele and Yawota communities of Oriire Local Government Area.

Zaccheaus said the first indication of danger was the sound of motorcycles approaching the school, followed immediately by sporadic gunshots that threw pupils and teachers into panic. The terrified students began shouting warnings: “Bandits, bandits, bandits,” he recalled. The attack targeted Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School, resulting in the abduction of 39 pupils and seven teachers, including the school principal. During the assault, the attackers killed the Assistant Headmaster of L.A. Primary School, Joel Adesiyan, while he attempted to escape. Zaccheaus attempted to escape through a window with some pupils but injured his left leg while landing, worsening a long-standing arthritis condition. Unable to keep pace with fleeing students, he urged them to save themselves and hid beneath thick vegetation, covering his body with leaves to avoid detection.

In a heartbreaking twist, Zaccheaus said one female pupil refused to leave the area despite his pleas. When the attackers’ commander approached the girl, her reaction inadvertently revealed his hiding location. “When he wanted to take the student, the student looked at the position where I was. Their commander also looked in that direction and saw me. He opened his mask. He was wondering whether I was a human being or something else. Then he told me to stand up. That was how I was captured,” he recounted. Many community members initially refused to believe he had been captured, assuming he had escaped and gone into hiding.

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Throughout their 56-day ordeal, the adult male captives were kept blindfolded, handcuffed and chained by the legs for virtually the entire period. “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,” he said. The captives survived on two sparse meals daily—usually plain rice or rice mixed with only palm oil, without pepper or salt. Occasionally, the terrorists hunted wild animals, including deer and grasscutter, which were shared among the captives. The terrorists rarely stayed in one place, frequently moving the captives from one forest location to another to avoid detection by security forces. Adult captives often bore the punishment for mistakes committed by frightened children. “Sometimes they struck us with their guns. If any of the children did something they didn’t like, it was the adults who suffered,” Zaccheaus said.

The teacher disclosed that the victims were initially prevented from praying openly. After about a month, they were allowed to pray but with strict restrictions: “They told us we could pray, but we should not call the name of Jesus loudly. Whenever we were praying, we should not pray aloud so that they would not see or hear us,” he said. He said the kidnappers communicated in English, Yoruba, Hausa, Nupe and other languages, and the captors did not appear to be Yoruba despite their ability to speak the language. The group identified itself as members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

Tragically, two of Zaccheaus’s colleagues did not survive the ordeal. Mathematics teacher Michael Oyedokun was beheaded by the terrorists after he was discovered to have secretly kept a mobile phone. The commander declared that such disobedience could not go unpunished. “We heard him crying and begging as they dragged him away. His voice was very loud at first… then suddenly, everywhere became silent,” Zaccheaus recalled. Moments later, one of the younger terrorists returned dancing and singing in celebration of the killing. On June 7, another teacher, Deacon John Olaleye, was also taken away and murdered because the terrorists claimed the military was moving too close to their location. “They never killed them in our presence. They would take them away to another location. We only heard their cries before everything became quiet,” he said.

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Speaking about the day the victims left the camp on July 10, 2026, Zaccheaus said the behaviour of the gunmen suddenly changed. According to him, the captors began smiling and told the victims that they had regained their freedom. “Their commander came and was smiling and laughing and said we should thank God that we had been freed. They told us to open our eyes. They removed the blindfold and the handcuff and asked us to go,” he recalled. Zaccheaus stated that his release was briefly delayed after the key to his handcuffs broke. “There was no key to remove the handcuff from my hand. That was how I was carrying the handcuff. One of them said maybe they should cut off my hand, but another said they should not,” he said. The captors eventually used a rope to remove the restraint from his wrist.

The teacher said he became disoriented after the victims were left in the forest and initially walked in the wrong direction. The group’s commander, whom he described as an ISWAP member, called him back at gunpoint and directed him towards the route taken by the others. The victims trekked for about an hour before reaching motorcycles, which conveyed them towards Kinyere village. They reportedly continued on foot for another 90 minutes before meeting government security personnel. Zaccheaus described encountering two rivers along the journey, with the second river filled to the bank. “I carried the children across the river, even some of the elders, I carried them. There was a little child that fell into the river. I quickly picked her,” he said. When they spotted a bus ahead, fear gripped them again. “We thought we had moved from frying pan to fire. We asked for their ID cards. What made us panic the more was that they were speaking in Hausa language. We said God has just saved us from some Hausa people, we are falling into the hands of another Hausa people again,” he recounted. The security personnel eventually calmed them down, assuring them the government had sent them.

Security sources later revealed that the rescue was the result of an intelligence-led operation involving the arrest of family members of the kidnappers. Operatives of the Department of State Services tracked down and arrested several wives and children of the kidnappers in different communities and cities across the country. The kidnappers had initially demanded the release of detained terrorist commanders, including Mahmud Usman (Abu Bara’a) and his deputy Abubakar Abba, leaders of the Ansaru faction, as well as payment of ransom and two Hilux vehicles. Security agencies rejected the proposal, insisting the captives must first be released. Security sources said the arrest of the terrorists’ family members reduced the likelihood that the abductors would harm the hostages, fearing possible consequences for their own relatives. When the final operation commenced, scores of terrorists were killed while eight others were arrested.

Following their release, the rescued pupils and teachers were taken for medical examination and treatment before being handed over to the Oyo State Government for reunification with their families. President Bola Tinubu commended the security agencies for working round the clock for 56 days and securing the release without collateral damage. Reflecting on his survival, Zaccheaus attributed the victims’ freedom to divine intervention and public prayers. “The way we were rescued was miraculous. It was people’s prayers and God’s help. Let me put it that way,” he said.