‘The Terrorists Laughed And Said We Should Thank God That We Have Been Freed’ – Oyo Kidnapped Teacher Reveals Fresh Angle

A teacher abducted during the attack on schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State has narrated how he spent 56 days in captivity before he and other victims regained their freedom.

Naijaonpoint reports that the school counsellor, Olatunde Olutuye Zaccheaus, said he was the last victim seized by the gunmen and also the last person to be released from their custody.

Zaccheaus spoke during an emotional telephone interview on Nigeria Info’s Morning Crossfire programme on Friday, alongside his wife.

His account, particularly the circumstances in which the victims left the kidnappers’ camp, has generated questions over whether they were released following negotiations or rescued during a security operation.

Narrating the day of the attack, Zacchaeus said the first indication of danger was the sound of motorcycles approaching the school.

According to him, gunshots followed almost immediately, throwing pupils and teachers into panic.

“What we just heard was the movement of a bike. Immediately, we heard gunshots. They were shooting sporadically,” he said.

He added that the terrified pupils began shouting warnings as the assailants entered the premises.

“Our students, the voices we were hearing from them, were saying, ‘Bandits, bandits, bandits,’” he recalled.

Zaccheaus said he attempted to escape through a window with some pupils but injured his left leg while landing.

He explained that he had been managing arthritis in the leg before the attack, and the impact worsened his condition.

“When I jumped through the window and wanted to land, I landed on the left leg where I had arthritis. Immediately, I knew there was a problem. I was unable to walk,” he said.

Some pupils initially tried to assist him, but he urged them to flee when it became clear that he could not keep up with them.

“I told them, ‘Please, you go. Don’t worry about me. Let them not capture you,’” Zaccheaus said.

He subsequently hid beneath thick vegetation, covering parts of his body with leaves in an attempt to avoid detection.

The teacher said one female pupil refused to leave the area despite his pleas. According to him, the attackers’ commander approached the girl, and her reaction inadvertently revealed where he was hiding.

He said, “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.”

Zaccheaus said his capture surprised many in the community, who had initially believed he had escaped and gone into hiding.

“Everybody was saying they trusted me and that they could not capture me. The students were saying they knew I was alive and that nobody captured me,” he said.

He added that the assumption later made it difficult for some people to believe that he had spent the entire period with the abductors.

Although Zacchaeus declined to disclose some details about conditions in captivity, he said the kidnappers communicated in English, Yoruba and other languages.

He said the captors did not appear to be Yoruba despite their ability to speak the language. The teacher also disclosed that the victims were initially prevented from praying openly.

“After a month, 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.

Zaccheaus also claimed that his long-standing leg condition improved after the abductors gave him an unidentified medication.