ORIRE KIDNAP: WE WERE RELEASED, NOT RESCUED

An account by Mr. Zacheaus Olatunde on the kidnap incident of May 15, 2026, in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, and what led to the deaths of Mr. Michael Oyedokun and Deacon John Olaleye.

Mr. Michael Oyedokun Died Because of His Disobedience

On the day we arrived in the forest, the kidnappers instructed us to drop all our phones. We complied, but Mr. Michael Oyedokun did not drop his. A terrorist who was sitting with him on the motorcycle discovered a phone in his pocket and questioned him. The teacher said he did not hear when they gave the order. The terrorist slapped him immediately. When their commander heard about it, he became furious.

They have two commanders: a General Commander and a Camp Commander. The General Commander said, “If I don’t kill anyone, I must kill this man for disobeying my order.”

The following day, Mr. Michael Oyedokun was slaughtered. He was shouting as they dragged him away. He kept begging, and his cries were very loud until we could no longer hear his voice.

Later, one of the terrorists, aged 17 or 18, came back dancing and singing in celebration of the teacher’s death.

Mr. John Olaleye Was Killed As a Result of Military Encroachment

They murdered him on June 7. They killed him because, according to them, they had warned that military personnel should not move closer to their camp.

They did not kill them in our presence; they took them to another location to carry out the acts. We only heard their cries.

They kept us in a tent, chained and handcuffed for the entire 56 days. Our eyes were blindfolded, and whenever we needed to urinate or defecate, we had to beg them for permission.

We did not stay in one location throughout the 56 days; they kept changing locations. Sometimes they hit us with their guns. We were often punished for any offence committed by the little children among us.

When it was time for them to pray, they did not joke with it. They prayed a lot and recited the Quran. They never missed their prayers.

Terrorists Were Devout Muslims and Hated Hearing the Name of Jesus

The terrorists said they did not want money. Their demand was the release of their people who had been arrested.

We men suffered a lot. They must not see us praying. Anytime they noticed we were praying, they beat us severely. They said they did not want us to pray or call the name of Jesus.

How They Were “Rescued”

The terrorists willingly released us. They asked us to leave that day because the military had abducted their families. They told us to go on their own, so that their families could also be released.

When we were released, they showed us the way to go and told us we would see two streams on the way. They said after crossing the two streams, we would see soldiers waiting to receive us. This is suspicious.

I was the one carrying everyone when we reached the streams. I carried almost all the little children because most of them were already weak. After a short trek, we saw some security operatives who had been waiting to receive us. This is also suspicious.

What We Were Eating

It was a bitter experience. They mainly gave us rice and palm oil without pepper, and sometimes just plain rice without salt or palm oil.

There was a time they killed a deer and a grasscutter for us. Since the day they eliminated Mr. John Olaleye, they changed their attitude towards us and started treating us better. Their cruel treatment stopped when they heard that some of their family members had been abducted by soldiers.

On the day we were to be released, they asked if we wanted to take our bath, but we declined because we were eager to leave the forest. They told us to get ready that we would be going home that day.

When we got to Ibadan, one of the military commanders asked me if I could identify the terrorists if I saw them on a phone. He showed me their pictures and I was able to identify one. They told us they had arrested eight of the terrorists and that others had been neutralized.

We thank God that we survived, but we are not happy that Mr. Michael Oyedokun and Mr. John Olaleye could not return alive.