One of the teachers rescued after spending 56 days in captivity following the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo, Zacchaeus Olatunde, has said the victims were released by their abductors before security personnel later escorted them home.

The rescued Oyo teacher made the claim during a telephone interview with Nigeria Info FM aired on Friday while recounting the ordeal of the victims.

According to him, the captives were blindfolded throughout their stay in captivity and had no idea where they were being held.

“It is difficult to say on air, but I will just say what I can. When we were there, we were blind, 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 identified themselves as members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

“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,” Olatunde said.

Despite the uncertainty, he said the captives remained hopeful that prayers offered on their behalf would eventually secure their freedom.

“All I can say is that God answered all the prayers that people were praying for us,” he added.

Describing their conditions in captivity, Olatunde said the abductors fed them twice daily but imposed restrictions on their religious activities.

“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.”

The rescued Oyo teacher said they were fed rice, beans, onions, margarine and salt throughout their stay but were never served pepper.

According to him, the teachers neither bathed nor washed their clothes during 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 disclosed that the kidnappers initially prohibited them from praying.

“When we got there, they told us not to pray. After about a month, they allowed us to pray, but they warned us not to mention the name of Jesus and not to pray aloud,” he said.

He said their release came unexpectedly when the kidnappers’ commander informed them that they had been freed.

“Their commander came smiling and laughing and said we should thank God that we had been freed. The next thing they said was that we should open our eyes,” he recalled.

Olatunde said he was the last person to leave the camp because the key to his handcuffs had broken.

“When they released us, everybody had gone. They said I could not carry the handcuff home because the key had broken. One of them suggested they should cut off my hand, but another said no. They later used a small rope to remove the handcuff,” he said.

He further alleged that after attempting to follow the other victims, the kidnappers’ commander called him back at gunpoint before directing him to the correct route.

According to Olatunde, the victims trekked for about an hour before motorcycles arranged by the kidnappers conveyed them close to a nearby village, where they continued on foot until they met security personnel.

“We trekked for about 40 minutes to one hour before they provided motorcycles that took us close to the nearest village. They later stopped and told us they could not go further, so we trekked for another one and a half hours before we got to where the government people who came to rescue us were,” he said.

The teacher said the victims were initially afraid of the security personnel because they spoke Hausa and arrived in vehicles without number plates.

“When we saw the buses, we were afraid because the people were speaking Hausa. We even asked them to show us their identity cards. They kept assuring us that the government sent them.

“The buses had no number plates and had Arabic inscriptions. We were afraid they wanted to take us somewhere else,” he said.

Olatunde also recounted helping younger pupils during the journey out of the forest, saying he carried one of the children on his shoulders and assisted others to cross rivers safely before they eventually reunited with government officials.

One of the teachers rescued after spending 56 days in captivity following the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo, Zacchaeus Olatunde, has said the victims were released by their abductors before security personnel later escorted them home.

The rescued Oyo teacher made the claim during a telephone interview with Nigeria Info FM aired on Friday while recounting the ordeal of the victims.

According to him, the captives were blindfolded throughout their stay in captivity and had no idea where they were being held.

“It is difficult to say on air, but I will just say what I can. When we were there, we were blind, 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 identified themselves as members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP).

“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,” Olatunde said.

Despite the uncertainty, he said the captives remained hopeful that prayers offered on their behalf would eventually secure their freedom.

“All I can say is that God answered all the prayers that people were praying for us,” he added.

Describing their conditions in captivity, Olatunde said the abductors fed them twice daily but imposed restrictions on their religious activities.

“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.”

The rescued Oyo teacher said they were fed rice, beans, onions, margarine and salt throughout their stay but were never served pepper.

According to him, the teachers neither bathed nor washed their clothes during 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 disclosed that the kidnappers initially prohibited them from praying.

“When we got there, they told us not to pray. After about a month, they allowed us to pray, but they warned us not to mention the name of Jesus and not to pray aloud,” he said.

He said their release came unexpectedly when the kidnappers’ commander informed them that they had been freed.

“Their commander came smiling and laughing and said we should thank God that we had been freed. The next thing they said was that we should open our eyes,” he recalled.

Olatunde said he was the last person to leave the camp because the key to his handcuffs had broken.

“When they released us, everybody had gone. They said I could not carry the handcuff home because the key had broken. One of them suggested they should cut off my hand, but another said no. They later used a small rope to remove the handcuff,” he said.

He further alleged that after attempting to follow the other victims, the kidnappers’ commander called him back at gunpoint before directing him to the correct route.

According to Olatunde, the victims trekked for about an hour before motorcycles arranged by the kidnappers conveyed them close to a nearby village, where they continued on foot until they met security personnel.

“We trekked for about 40 minutes to one hour before they provided motorcycles that took us close to the nearest village. They later stopped and told us they could not go further, so we trekked for another one and a half hours before we got to where the government people who came to rescue us were,” he said.

The teacher said the victims were initially afraid of the security personnel because they spoke Hausa and arrived in vehicles without number plates.

“When we saw the buses, we were afraid because the people were speaking Hausa. We even asked them to show us their identity cards. They kept assuring us that the government sent them.

“The buses had no number plates and had Arabic inscriptions. We were afraid they wanted to take us somewhere else,” he said.

Olatunde also recounted helping younger pupils during the journey out of the forest, saying he carried one of the children on his shoulders and assisted others to cross rivers safely before they eventually reunited with government officials.