“Military Arrested Our Families, So You Can Go” – Rescued Oyo Teacher Reveals Why Kidnappers Released Them

One of the teachers rescued after spending 56 days in captivity has shared a chilling account of how the abducted pupils and teachers were finally released, revealing that the kidnappers let them go after claiming security forces had arrested some of their family members.

Mr. Zacheaus Olatunde, one of the survivors of the May 15, 2026 abduction in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, said the terrorists gathered them and announced they would be released.

According to him, the kidnappers told the captives that the military had arrested members of their families and that they were willing to exchange the hostages for their relatives.

“They told us to go willingly so that their families, who had been arrested by the military, would also be released,” Olatunde recounted.

He said the terrorists did not abandon them in the forest. Instead, they directed them on the exact route to follow.

“They told us we would cross two streams, and after the second stream we would meet soldiers waiting to receive us,” he said.

Olatunde explained that many of the children were already too weak to walk after nearly two months in captivity.

“I carried many of the little children because they no longer had the strength to walk. After trekking for some time, we eventually met the security personnel waiting for us.”

While recounting the ordeal, Olatunde also revealed how two of his colleagues, Mr. Michael Oyedokun and Deacon John Olaleye, were brutally killed by the terrorists.

According to him, the trouble for Mr. Michael Oyedokun began on the first day they arrived in the forest when the kidnappers ordered everyone to surrender their mobile phones.

Although the other victims complied, one of the terrorists later discovered a phone in Oyedokun’s pocket while he was being transported on a motorcycle.

When questioned, the teacher reportedly explained that he did not hear the instruction to drop his phone.

The explanation did not save him.

Olatunde said one of the terrorists slapped Oyedokun before reporting the incident to their General Commander, who became enraged.

“The General Commander said, ‘If I don’t kill anyone, I must kill this man for disobeying my order.’”

The following day, the kidnappers came for Mr. Oyedokun.

“They dragged him away while he cried and begged for mercy. We heard him shouting from a distance, but after some time, the noise stopped completely.”

Olatunde said one of the younger terrorists, believed to be about 17 or 18 years old, later returned dancing and singing to celebrate the teacher’s death.

Weeks later, tragedy struck again.

According to Olatunde, Deacon John Olaleye was taken away and killed on June 7 after the kidnappers accused the military of moving too close to their camp despite earlier warnings.

“They never killed anyone in our presence. They always took them to another location. We only heard their cries before everything became silent,” he said.

Describing life inside the terrorists’ camp, Olatunde said the captives were chained and handcuffed throughout the 56 days. They were blindfolded most of the time and had to beg before they were allowed to use the toilet.

He said the terrorists constantly moved them from one location to another, often beating the adults whenever the children made mistakes.

“They sometimes hit us with guns. We, the adults, usually suffered for whatever the children did.”

He also disclosed that the kidnappers forbade Christian prayers.

“If they saw us praying or calling on Jesus, they beat us mercilessly.”

According to him, the terrorists never joked with their own religious practices.

“They prayed regularly and recited the Quran every day without fail.”

Olatunde further claimed that throughout their captivity, the kidnappers insisted they were not interested in collecting ransom but wanted some of their arrested members to be released.

He said conditions in the camp only improved after the terrorists learned that some of their own family members had been arrested by security forces.

“After Deacon John Olaleye was killed, they suddenly changed. They started treating us better because they heard their families had been arrested.”

He added that on the day of their release, the kidnappers even offered them an opportunity to bathe before leaving.

“We refused because all we wanted was to leave the forest as quickly as possible.”

After arriving safely in Ibadan, Olatunde said military officers showed him photographs of suspected kidnappers.

“I was able to identify one of them. The officers told us they had arrested eight of the terrorists while others had been neutralised.”

Despite expressing gratitude for surviving the ordeal, Olatunde said the rescued victims still mourn the loss of the two teachers who never made it home.

“We thank God that we survived, but our joy is incomplete because Mr. Michael Oyedokun and Deacon John Olaleye did not return with us.”