Rescued pupils and teachers abducted from schools in Oriire, Oyo State, after regaining their freedom following a 56-day captivity.
One of the teachers rescued after spending 56 days in the custody of kidnappers in Oyo State, Zacchaeus Olatunde, has claimed that he and the other captives were released by their abductors before security personnel eventually escorted them home.
Olatunde made the claim during a telephone interview with Nigeria Info FM aired on Friday while recounting the ordeal of teachers and pupils abducted from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
According to him, the captives were permanently blindfolded throughout their captivity and were unable to determine where they had been taken.
“It is difficult to say on air, but I will just say what I can. When we were there, we were blindfolded, not an ordinary blindfold. We didn’t even know if we were in Nigeria or another country. We were just there. We were saying maybe the government had even forgotten us,” he said.
He said the abductors communicated in Hausa, Nupe, English and Yoruba and insisted they were members of the Islamic State West Africa Province.
“They said they are not Boko Haram. They said they are ISWAP. I was the last person who was captured in the school and I was the last person that was released,” he said.
Olatunde said despite the uncertainty, the captives remained hopeful that prayers offered on their behalf would secure their freedom.
“All I can say is that God answered all the prayers that people were praying for us,” he said.
Describing conditions in captivity, the teacher said the kidnappers ensured they were fed twice daily but placed strict restrictions on their religious practices.
“In terms of feeding, those people really tried for us, to be sincere. Right from the day we were abducted, they told us on the way that if we cooperated and the government cooperated, there would be no problem,” he said.
He added, “We were fed twice a day, morning and evening. We ate only rice, little beans, onions, margarine and salt. Throughout our stay there, we did not taste pepper.”
According to him, teachers were unable to bathe or wash their clothes throughout the 56 days in captivity.
“For the 56 days, we the teachers did not bathe. We did not wash our clothes,” he said.
Olatunde also recalled that the kidnappers initially prohibited them from praying.
Read Also NBA elects Badejo-Okusanya as president, 12 other national officers (FULL RESULTS)
