A teacher rescued after spending 56 days in captivity following the Oriire school abduction in Oyo State, Zacchaeus Olatunde, has shared more details about the ordeal, saying the kidnappers claimed they were members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), not Boko Haram.
According to a report by Punch on Sunday, July 19, 2026, speaking during a telephone interview, Olatunde said the captives were blindfolded throughout their time in captivity and could not tell where they were being held. He said the abductors spoke Hausa, Nupe, English, and Yoruba.
Olatunde said he was the last person captured during the attack on the school and also the last to be released because a broken handcuff key delayed his freedom. He recalled that the kidnappers’ commander eventually directed him to follow the route taken by the other captives after they had all left.
According to him, the captives were released before they later met security personnel who escorted them home. He said they trekked through the bush for about an hour before the kidnappers arranged motorcycles to take them closer to a nearby village, after which they walked again until they reached government officials.
Olatunde also said he helped younger pupils cross rivers during the journey out of the forest and carried a little girl who could not walk. He added that he was captured because arthritis in his left leg prevented him from escaping quickly. Despite returning safely, he said he has not received any financial support and appealed for assistance for his school.
In his words, “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….See More