According to a video posted on TVC News on Monday July 13, 2026, Mrs. Rachael Folake Alamu, the principal abducted alongside pupils and teachers in Oriire, Oyo State, described how the kidnappers silenced crying children by tying cloth around their mouths before beating them during the 56 days of captivity in the forest.
Mrs. Alamu said the captors were particularly intolerant of noise, as they feared it would expose their location to search parties or nearby communities.
She explained that the youngest children in the group, who found it difficult to stay silent, were often subjected to this harsh punishment.
She said watching the treatment of the children was one of the most painful parts of the entire experience.
In her words, Mrs. Alamu said, “What they hate most is noise, that it attracts attention. So the youngest of them, maybe the two, Wiyat and Salam, they were the ones that took the worst of the beating.
“They will close their mouth, tie it with cloth, and beat them very well. Then the men, they had it worse than us, because they were blindfolded, handcuffed and chained on the leg, all of them, until they remained two,” she said.
She explained further that the group was constantly on the move, often relocating at night whenever their hideout was discovered, a routine that forced everyone, including the children, to walk for hours through difficult terrain.
Mrs. Alamu said older schoolgirls among the captives had to carry the younger children on their backs when they grew too tired to continue walking.
Despite the disturbing treatment described, Mrs. Alamu maintained that no sexual molestation took place throughout the captivity.
Her account has renewed concern among parents and education stakeholders over the safety of pupils in rural schools situated near forested areas prone to attacks by armed groups…See More
Leave a Reply