The rescued Principal of Ahoro Esinle School in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, Mrs. Rachael Alamu, has recounted the ordeal she, other teachers and pupils suffered in captivity, while also explaining why she asked about her car shortly after regaining freedom.
Alamu spoke on Monday after she and the rescued teachers and pupils were formally handed over to Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, at the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Ibadan.
Her explanation followed reactions to a remark she made shortly after her release, when she asked about the vehicle she was driving on the day the pupils and teachers were abducted.
According to her, she initially believed the vehicle had been left at the scene and later recovered by the police, only to discover that it had been moved and burnt by the abductors.
“What actually happened is I thought they left the car there. The police would have towed the car to their office.
“But somebody showed me the car where it was burnt, and that was not the part we took. So I thought… I think they drove it to that point before it was burnt.
“That was not the way we took,” she said.
The victims were abducted by gunmen on May 15, 2026, and spent 56 days in captivity before security agencies secured their release.
Alamu said the abductees endured severe hardship in the forest, where they were exposed to sun, rain and harsh conditions while trying 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.
The principal disclosed that while she was not personally beaten, several of the younger pupils were assaulted whenever they cried or made noise.
She also said the captives were repeatedly forced to move through forests at night as the kidnappers tried to evade security operatives.
According to her account, male teachers were chained and blindfolded during parts of the ordeal, while the children were beaten into silence to prevent them from drawing attention.
Alamu also spoke on the killing of two teachers during the abduction.
The teachers were identified as Mathematics teacher, Mr. Michael Oyedokun, who was reportedly killed in the kidnappers’ den, and Mr. Esiyan Adegboye, 49, who was shot dead during the invasion. Adegboye was buried in Ogbomoso on May 22.
“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,” she said.
Asked whether the experience would affect her career as a teacher, Alamu said she hoped to recover with time, but admitted that she was unsure about returning to work under the same conditions.
“With time, I’ve worked for 28 years, so I have four years. With time, maybe I can get over it.
“But going that far, the distance between that place… is far already. So I sacrifice a lot when it comes to transportation. Now coupled with this, I don’t know what will happen,” she said.
The Federal Government announced the rescue of the abducted pupils and teachers on Friday after more than 50 days in captivity.
Before their formal handover to the Oyo State Government, the rescued victims were taken to the Military Hospital in Ibadan, where they received medical treatment and psychosocial support.
Governor Makinde had earlier visited them at the hospital before receiving them formally at the Government House on Monday.
The rescue ended weeks of anxiety for families of the abducted pupils and teachers, as well as residents of Oriire Local Government Area and other parts of Oyo State.
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