Schoolchildren being snatched from classrooms have become routine in Nigeria, but Oriire local government area in Oyo State had stayed clear of such horrors—until May 15 changed everything. Gunmen stormed two schools that morning, Community High School in Ahoro-Esinle and Yawota Baptist Nursery and Primary School, forcing away 39 pupils and seven staff members.
Students sitting tests screamed out warnings as the attackers moved in. One of the abducted teachers, Olatunde Zacheus, has now recounted the shocking events of that day and the ordeal that followed in an interview with Nigeria Info FM.
Zacheus had slept in the community rather than making the journey from Ogbomoso that morning. When he arrived at school, pupils began trickling in and he decided to start administering tests to junior secondary school classes without waiting for other staff to arrive, knowing how delays happened on these routes.
"I divided the students and started conducting the test with the hope that other staff would join," he explained. As more colleagues arrived, he assigned them to invigilate senior secondary school classes while he continued supervising the junior students.
The principal walked in shortly after, followed by another junior staff member whom Zacheus sent to monitor another junior secondary class. He and his junior colleague remained at the rear of the building, away from the front entrance.
Then came the sound of motorcycles drawing near. Gunfire erupted almost immediately, scattered and frantic.
Pupils began shouting warnings of attackers approaching.
Zacheus had been dealing with arthritis in his left leg and wouldn't have ventured out that week under normal circumstances. When students and the junior staff member bolted through windows and fled toward the bush, he followed.
"However, when I wanted to land, I landed with the left leg, where I had arthritis," he said. Pain shot through him and movement became impossible.
He instructed the other students to leave him behind, confident the abductors would pass him by. His green clothing blended perfectly with the surrounding grass, so he lay down and pulled a thick leaf over his injured leg.
A student spotted him and called out in sympathy, but he urged her to go. School uniforms of white and brown would make them visible, he warned, but she refused to leave his side.
When the attackers' commander approached the spot, he walked straight past Zacheus without noticing him. But when he reached the student standing near Zacheus, he grabbed her and held her close.
As the student smiled, her eyes turned toward where Zacheus lay hidden. The commander's gaze followed her look in his direction.
Zacheus spent 56 grueling days in captivity with his fellow abductees before finally gaining freedom. His account reveals how split-second decisions and sheer chance determined who got taken that morning and who managed to escape the net.
