The principal of Community High School, Ahoro-Esiele, Mrs. Alamu Folake, has recounted the harrowing 56-day ordeal she, other teachers and pupils endured in captivity, revealing that their abductors deliberately killed two captives in an attempt to pressure the government into meeting their demands.
Alamu spoke on Monday during the official handover of the rescued victims to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde by the Nigerian Army, describing their time in captivity as a traumatic experience marked by fear, uncertainty and constant threats to their lives.
She recalled that what began as a normal school day on May 15, 2026, quickly descended into chaos when armed kidnappers attacked their schools and abducted teachers and pupils.
“We’re grateful to God. On May 15, a Friday that started well ended in chaos for us, and for 56 days we were in the bush. It was a harrowing experience, but we thank God for seeing us through. We went through a lot,” she said.
According to the principal, the kidnappers employed psychological intimidation throughout their captivity, repeatedly telling the victims that the government had abandoned them and no longer cared about their fate.
She said despite the threats and emotional torture, the captives continued to hope for rescue and drew strength from the belief that Nigerians were praying for them.
“A relief to us is that Nigerians were praying for us. Many times, they used fear to subdue us. At one point they told us the government wasn’t interested in our case anymore because they didn’t value us. But there were times we held on to hope that we would come out alive,” she said.
Alamu disclosed that the kidnappers executed two captives to force the government to accede to their demands.
“Mr. Michael was killed on the second day, while Deacon was killed on the first Sunday in June. They killed them purposely because they felt that would force the government to give them whatever they wanted,” she revealed.
She added that although the victims survived the ordeal, they would continue to live with the emotional scars of the experience.
“It was until we got out that we discovered the whole world was on our case. We have scars already, but we believe with time we will heal,” she said.
The principal expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu, Governor Seyi Makinde, the security agencies involved in the rescue operation and Nigerians whose prayers and support sustained the victims throughout their captivity.
The victims were abducted on May 15 after armed bandits attacked Community High School, Ahoro-Esiele, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, and LA Primary School in Ogbomoso, all located in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The attack claimed the lives of an assistant headmaster, Joel Adesiyan, and a commercial motorcyclist, prompting the Oyo State Government to shut schools in four local government areas while security agencies intensified efforts to rescue the victims.
The Presidency announced on Friday that all the abducted pupils and teachers had been rescued during a coordinated security operation. According to Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, eight suspected kidnappers were arrested and are currently in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), while several others were neutralised during the operation. He also stated that no ransom was paid and no prisoner exchange was made to secure the victims’ freedom.