The principal of the Oyo school abducted by gunmen has narrated the terrifying final weeks of her captivity, revealing how intensified military airstrikes, hunger, sickness and repeated threats from the kidnappers pushed the hostages to the brink before they regained their freedom.
Speaking during a thanksgiving service at Antioch Baptist Church in Ogbomoso on Sunday, Mrs Alamu described the seventh week in captivity as the most difficult, saying military operations against the kidnappers became more aggressive.
“Just one instance, apart from seeing the hand of God right from the beginning, the seventh week was the hardest for us all. 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,” she said.
Mrs Alamu explained that the kidnappers became angry after hearing reports that the government had promised the victims would regain their freedom 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.
She recalled being summoned by the leader of the gang, who threatened to kill one of the captives in retaliation for the military offensive.
“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.
Rather than watch another hostage die, Mrs Alamu said she pleaded with the commander to lower the ransom demand.
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“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 also described the fear that gripped the captives one night after hearing the kidnappers digging nearby, believing another hostage was about to be buried alive.
“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,” she said.
The principal further revealed that hunger became a constant struggle because the kidnappers avoided cooking to prevent security forces from detecting their location through smoke.
“They would say, ‘Mama Principal, tell them we are ready to sacrifice any one of them if they make noise. They cannot kill all of us.’ How do you tell a one-year, three-month-old baby not to cry? How do you tell a two-year-old that you must not ask for food? 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.
Mrs Alamu said she also battled illness during the final days of captivity and relied on faith to survive after requesting medication from one of the kidnappers.
“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.”
She said she later developed a high fever and sought help from the camp commander.
“I just called one of them, the camp commander. I said, ‘Can I have two tablets of paracetamol?’ He said, ‘No problem.’ The woman sitting next to me said, ‘Mommy, this is not paracetamol.’ I said, ‘God will work with it.’ I used it and, to the glory of God, it was as if I never had the symptoms of malaria.”
Reflecting on her eventual rescue, Mrs Alamu described her freedom as nothing short of divine intervention.
“The release was miraculous. I cannot say this is what happened. 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,” she said.