Rachael Alamu, the freed abducted principal of Community High School, Esiele in the Oriire axis of Ogbomoso, Oyo state, has described her freedom and that of other captives as miraculous.
Alamu spoke on Sunday during a thanksgiving service at
Antioch Baptist Church, Ogbomoso, describing her experience in captivity as the
most traumatic period of her life.
The principal said the inhuman treatment to which she and
others were subjected, as well as the harsh conditions she endured during her
captivity, made her to God that her grave would not be in the forest.
“The release was miraculous. I cannot say this is what
happened,” she recounted.
“But like the man in the Book of Luke who said, ‘I was
blind, but now I can see,’ I know that I was incarcerated for a period of time,
and at the right time God rescued me and brought me back to my people. So, I
give glory unto the Lord.
“I specifically asked God for two things. One, I prayed that
I would not meet an empty house. I knew how fragile my husband’s health was.
The other thing I specifically asked was for my health. I told God my grave
should not be numbered in the forest.”
The woman said although the abductees suffered throughout
their stay in captivity, their ordeal became more harrowing in the final week
because of intensified military operations around the kidnappers’ camp.
“Just one instance, apart from seeing the hand of God right
from the beginning, the seventh week was the hardest for us all,” she said.
“That was when the troops increased their air raids. It was
so intense and persistent that at a point the fear of the bandits became
secondary. We were just praying that missiles would not be accidentally dropped
on us.
“But God kept us because we were so exposed, only covered
with polythene bags and grasses.”
‘THEY BECAME SO FURIOUS’
The principal recalled that the poor living conditions took
a toll on her health during the final days of captivity, but she believed God
preserved her life.
She also recalled that the terrorists became angry after the
government’s promise that the hostages would be released before the end of the
week.
“They had told us the previous week that the governor said
that before Friday, the next week, we would be released. So, we were calm. But
when the air raids started on Tuesday, they became so furious,” she said.
According to her, the camp commander later summoned her and
threatened to kill one of the captives.
“He said, ‘Principal, come.’ I was already shaking because I
knew what that could mean. Immediately, he said, ‘See what your government has
done. I’m going to kill one of you today.’ I just fell down, rolling on the
ground,” she recounted.
The principal said she later pleaded with the commander to
reduce his ransom demand rather than carry out the threat.
“I said, ‘What your heart is asking for is beyond any of the
victims’ families. Just ask for what we can run around for.’ He said, ‘Okay, I
will send you a message,’” she recalled.
“Later in the night, we started hearing shovels working. The
two men with us were shouting and pleading. We all knew what that meant. They
were about to bury another person. But to the glory of God, they only asked us
to move because they could no longer stay in that place.”
The principal also described the harsh conditions in the
forest, saying hunger became a daily reality because the kidnappers feared
smoke from cooking fires would expose their location.
“They were not free to prepare food because they were afraid
the smoke would give them away. So we went hungry most of the time,” she said.
BACKGROUND
On May 15, gunmen attacked Baptist Nursery and Primary
School, Yawota; Community Grammar School, Esiele; and LA Primary School, all in
Oriire LGA.
The attackers abducted 39 schoolchildren and seven teachers,
including Alamu.
The bandits, who killed two people during the attack, later
murdered Michael Oyedokun, one of the abducted teachers, in captivity.
The incident triggered nationwide outrage and protests on
June 2, leading to the closure of schools in the affected LGAs.
The abductees, however, regained their freedom on July 10
after spending exactly 56 days in captivity.
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