How Terrorists K!lled Our Colleagues To Pressure Nigerian Government’ — R£scued Oyo School Principal Recounts 56 Days Of H0rror

‘How Terrorists Killed Our Colleagues To Pressure Nigerian Government’ — Rescued Oyo School Principal Recounts 56 Days Of Horror

She said the victims were subjected to repeated intimidation by their abductors, who claimed that the government had abandoned them and no longer cared about their fate.

The principal of Community High School, Ahoro-Esiele, Oyo State, Mrs. Alamu Folawe, has revealed that kidnappers murdered two captives in a calculated attempt to pressure the government into meeting their demands during the victims’ 56-day captivity.

Speaking on Monday during the official handover of the rescued teachers and pupils to Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, by the Nigerian Army, Folawe described the ordeal as one of fear, psychological torture and constant uncertainty.

She said the victims were subjected to repeated intimidation by their abductors, who claimed that the government had abandoned them and no longer cared about their fate.

“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 abductors deliberately used fear as a weapon to weaken the captives emotionally while attempting to extract concessions from the authorities.

“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.

Folawe disclosed that two captives were executed during the period in what she described as a deliberate strategy to pressure the government.

“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 said.

She added that the survivors only realised the scale of public concerns after regaining their freedom.

“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.

However, the principal thanked President Bola Tinubu, Governor Seyi Makinde, security agencies and Nigerians for their prayers and support throughout the victims’ captivity.

It would be recalled that the teachers and pupils were abducted on May 15 after heavily armed bandits attacked Community High School, Ahoro-Esiele, alongside Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota, and LA Primary School in Ogbomoso, all located in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.

The attack also claimed the lives of an assistant headmaster, Joel Adesiyan, and a commercial motorcyclist, forcing the Oyo State Government to shut schools across four local government areas while security agencies launched an intensive rescue operation.

The Presidency announced on Friday that all the abducted teachers and pupils had been rescued during a coordinated security operation.

Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said eight suspected kidnappers were arrested and are currently in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), while several other members of the gang were killed during the operation.

He also maintained that the victims were rescued without the payment of ransom or any prisoner exchange.