Mrs. Rachael Alamu, the rescued Oyo State principal of Community High School in the Oriire Local Government Area, has disclosed why the kidnappers killed the teachers abducted in the state.
The instructors slain were mathematics teacher Michael Oyedokun, who was decapitated in the kidnappers’ den, and Mr. Esiyan Adegboye, 49, who was wounded during the invasion.
Adegboye was buried at Ogbomoso on May 22.
Alamu said this when interacting with reporters on Monday.
The principal and the other rescued students and teachers were received by Governor Seyi Makinde at the State Government House.
She said, “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.”
Speaking on their experience in captivity, the principal stressed that the victims spent most of the 56 days in the open forest, exposed to harsh weather 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.
Alamu revealed that although she was not physically assaulted, several of the younger pupils suffered severe beatings whenever they cried or made noise.
Chronicle NG reports that the rescued pupils and teachers were handed over to the state government by the federal government.
