Oriire abduction: Children were beaten, teachers chained — Alamu, Principal

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Mrs Alamu spoke after she and the rescued teachers and pupils were officially handed over to Governor Seyi Makinde at the Governor’s Office, Secretariat in Ibadan. Describing life in captivity, she said the victims spent most of the 56 days in the open forest, exposed to harsh weather conditions while struggling to keep the children alive and emotionally stable. Narrating her ordeal while in captivity, she said: “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.” The rescued principal disclosed that although she was not physically assaulted, several of the younger pupils endured severe beatings whenever they cried or made noise. She said: “Personally, I was not beaten, but some of the children were beaten. What they hated most was noise because they believed it could attract attention. “The youngest children suffered the most. They would tie their mouths with pieces of cloth and beat them very well.” Revealing that the male victims suffered harsher treatment, she said: “The men had it worse than us. They were blindfolded, handcuffed and chained on their legs.” Despite the harsh conditions, Alamu said none of the victims was sexually molested during the period in captivity. According to the principal, the kidnappers constantly relocated the captives whenever they feared their hideouts had been discovered by security forces, forcing adults and children to embark on exhausting nighttime journeys through difficult terrain. She said: “When the place was discovered, we had to move, and that usually started around seven or eight at night. Sometimes we walked for three to four hours. That is why you see bruises on our bodies. “The younger ones were carried, but the older children had to walk. They fell many times. It was very difficult.” Alamu also narrated how the victims were initially transported deeper into the forest after the abduction. She said: “My car was used to convey us to a point where we met the primary school pupils and their teacher. “From there, we walked for about one hour before they brought motorcycles. About 10 motorcycles were used to move us for more than four hours through bush paths they knew very well.” Reflecting on the impact of the experience on her teaching career, Mrs Alamu admitted that returning to remote rural postings would now require enormous courage. Her words: “I have worked for 28 years, and I have just about four years to retire. Going to rural areas now will take the grace of God. “Before this happened, I had already sacrificed a lot because of the distance. Now, coupled with this experience, I don’t know what will happen. I want to see my husband. When I get home, I can think of every other thing,” They ate cocoyam, noodles, drank from a waterfall, victims’ relatives recount Also speaking, a relative of one of the pupils rescued after spending 56 days in captivity revealed that the children survived mainly on cocoyam and noodles while drinking water from a nearby waterfall deep inside the Oyo National Forest, where they were held by Ansaru terrorists. The revelation came as more details emerged on the painstaking efforts by security agencies that culminated in the rescue of the 39 pupils and seven teachers abducted by the terrorists in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State. The relative, who identified herself simply as Olasunbo, described one of the rescued pupils as her nephew. She said: “We never rested from the day news of the abduction broke. We went from one prayer house to another and also joined online prayer sessions, both day and night. That child is my sister’s first, after seven years of childlessness, so you can imagine the tension we went through. “My nephew told us they survived mostly on cocoyam and noodles throughout their time in the forest. Sometimes they ate only once a day and drank water from a waterfall near where they were kept. “From what he narrated, the place was deep inside the forest. They hardly saw anyone apart from the terrorists guarding them. I was spending the weekend with my sister when news of their release reached us. They looked exhausted when they returned, but we thank God they came back alive.” Expressing gratitude to God for the rescue, she said: “As a family, we are grateful to God and to all the security personnel who risked their lives to rescue them. We understand that some officers paid the supreme sacrifice during the operation, and we pray that God comforts their families.” Meanwhile, the rescue operation involved personnel drawn from the Defence Headquarters, the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, the National Counter Terrorism Centre, NCTC, the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Navy Special Boat Service, SBS, the Nigerian Air Force, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services, DSS, and other members of the Joint Interagency Task Force. Although different accounts of how the operation unfolded have emerged from security sources, they all point to weeks of painstaking intelligence gathering and coordinated operations before the eventual recovery of the victims. Security sources revealed that at least two rescue operations were carried out before the pupils and teachers were eventually freed last Friday. One security source told Vanguard that one of the earliest breakthroughs came after security operatives reportedly used ransom negotiations as bait to expose members of the terrorists’ network.

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Original Source: Vanguard