Mrs. Rachael Alamu, the rescued principal of Community High School in Oriire Local Government Area, has shared a harrowing account of why kidnappers killed two of the school’s male teachers.
Speaking to journalists on Monday, Alamu recounted the tragic details of the abduction.
According to the principal, mathematics teacher Mr. Michael Oyedokun was beheaded while in captivity, while 49-year-old Mr. Esiyan Adegboye was shot and killed during the initial invasion.
Adegboye was later buried in Ogbomoso on May 22.
Following their rescue, Alamu, alongside the surviving teachers and children, was received by Governor Seyi Makinde at the Oyo State Government House.
Alamu said: “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.”
Recounting their 56-day ordeal, the principal emphasized that the victims spent most of their captivity in the open forest, where they battled harsh weather while working tirelessly to keep the children alive and emotionally stable.
“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,” she said.
Alamu disclosed that although she was not physically assaulted, several of the younger pupils suffered severe beatings whenever they cried or made noise.
The rescued pupils and teachers were handed over to the state government by the Federal Government.
Video footage obtained by Persecondnews showed the rescued pupils and teachers arriving at the state secretariat under tight military escort, safely stepping out of security vehicles.
The handover on Monday follows a Friday announcement by the Federal Government confirming that security forces had successfully rescued the victims after more than 50 days in captivity.
Persecondnews recalls that the survivors underwent medical evaluation and psychosocial therapy at the Military Hospital in Ibadan, where they were visited by Gov. Seyi Makinde on Saturday, July 11.