Oyo School Kidnap: DSS Witness Reveals How 49 Students, Teachers Survived 56 Days In Bush

A witness for the Department of State Services, identified by the codename “AAA”, has narrated the alleged ordeal of 49 students and teachers who were abducted from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State and spent 56 days in captivity before their rescue.

According to Bush Radio Academy, the witness gave the account while testifying before Justice Salim Ibrahim at the Federal High Court in Abuja during the ongoing trial involving five defendants accused of links to the Ansaru terrorist group.

Led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, the DSS witness told the court that the victims were abducted after armed men reportedly invaded their schools on 12 motorcycles. She said the attackers fired shots to prevent the students and teachers from escaping before taking them into the bush.

According to the witness, the abductors used several motorcycles to transport the victims, with each motorcycle reportedly carrying about four people. She added that a Toyota vehicle belonging to one of the teachers was also used to move some of the abductees.

She said the victims were subsequently taken through six different camps during the 56-day period. The witness alleged that the kidnappers told the victims their demand was not for ransom but for the release of detained members of their group.

The witness further claimed that the abductees endured severe shortages of food and water during their captivity. She told the court that, at one point, four victims were forced to share a single cup of water, while their food supplies gradually became inadequate.

She alleged that the victims were initially provided with rice, salt and palm oil, but were eventually left with only white rice after the other supplies ran out. She also claimed that some of the younger children were flogged while trying to eat because of the difficulty in getting enough food.

The DSS witness said the victims also faced harsh living conditions, alleging that they were unable to bathe or wash their clothes throughout their captivity. She added that they were forced to drink dirty water because there was no other source available.

She further told the court that the victims included very young children, with some reportedly as young as about one and a half years old and attending pre-nursery schools.

The witness also alleged that two teachers, Deacon John Olaleye and Michael Oyedokun, were killed at different points during the captivity after the abductors claimed that the government had failed to meet their demands.

She said the kidnappers confiscated the victims’ phones and allegedly used them to communicate with relatives and government officials.

According to her testimony, the victims were eventually rescued at the sixth camp after security forces arrived and engaged the alleged kidnappers in a gun battle, bringing an end to their 56-day captivity.

The testimony is part of the ongoing proceedings against five defendants identified as Mahmud Muhammad, also known as Abu Bara’a or Abbas Mukhtar; Abubakar Abbas, alias Isah Adam or Mallam Mahmuda Al-Nigeri; Abdulrazak Umar, alias Abu Khalifa or Abu Khalid; Yunusa Musa, alias Abu Yunusa Bin Musa; and Shamsu Adamu Sani, alias Abu Itisar.

Defence counsel Bala Dakum is expected to cross-examine the DSS witness on September 18 as the trial continues.