The whole world was thrown into shock when footage of the beheading of Mr Michael Oyedokun, the Mathematics teacher of the Community High School in Oriire Local Government Area, was released by the bandits that struck the school in May 15, abducting dozens of pupils. Also killed by the abductors was Mr Esiyan Adegboye, who was shot dead during the invasion. Armed attackers simultaneously stormed three schools—Baptist Nursery and Primary School (Yawota), L.A. Primary School (Ahoro-Esinele), and Community Grammar School (Ahoro-Esinele)—in the Oriire Local Government Area, abducting dozens of students and staff. After enduring a harrowing 56-day captivity, the victims were successfully rescued by joint security forces.
The
rescued principal of the school, Mrs Rachael Alamu, has now explained the
reason why the kidnappers killed the two teachers. Alamu made the disclosure while
speaking with newsmen on Monday.
The
principal, the other rescued children 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.”
Recounting 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
disclosed that although she was not physically assaulted, several of the
younger pupils suffered severe beatings whenever they cried or made noise.
The
rescued pupils and teachers were handed over to the state government by the
Federal Government.
A
video shared by Oyo Affairs showed the rescued victims alighting from a van
under heavy security provided by military personnel upon their arrival at the
secretariat.
The
footage captured the victims stepping out of the vehicle as armed security
operatives escorted them into the premises.
The
arrival follows the Federal Government’s announcement on Friday that security
agencies had successfully secured the release of all the
abducted pupils and teachers after more than 50 days in captivity.
Before
Monday’s handover, the rescued pupils and teachers had been receiving medical
treatment and psychosocial support at the Military Hospital in Ibadan, where
Governor Seyi Makinde visited them on Saturday.
Meanwhile,
the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator
Sharafadeen Alli, also visited the rescued pupils and teachers at the Military
Hospital.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment