Kidnappers Washed Our Clothes, Freed Oyo Teacher Debunks ‘Staged’ Claim

A teacher rescued after spending 56 days in captivity following the abduction of pupils and staff from three schools in Oyo State has dismissed claims that the incident was staged, revealing that their kidnappers occasionally washed their clothes when they became too dirty and smelly.

The teacher, Zachery Olatunde, made the disclosure in a video shared by Oyo Matters on Thursday, explaining that the unusual act by the abductors has been wrongly interpreted by some social media users as evidence that the victims were never truly held captive.

Olatunde was among the 44 pupils and teachers rescued on July 10 after being abducted by gunmen from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area on May 15.

Speaking in Yoruba, with his remarks translated into English, Olatunde said the kidnappers themselves washed the captives’ clothes on a few occasions after noticing the poor condition they were in.

“The abductors are the ones that wash the clothes for us a few times while we were in captivity, when they notice that we are already smelling. Don’t they (critics) see how rough and dirty we the teachers were? Didn’t they see how rough our beards were, like that of a bush rat?” he said.

He said the disclosure was necessary to debunk widespread online claims questioning the authenticity of the abduction because the rescued victims did not appear dirty enough after regaining their freedom.

The teacher also rejected suggestions that the entire incident was orchestrated, pointing to the deaths recorded during the ordeal as evidence that the victims endured a traumatic and real experience.

“Those saying the kidnapping was staged don’t know what they are saying. If it was staged, would they have killed two people? If it was staged, what we went through in that place was not good at all,” he said.

Responding to another claim circulating on social media that the rescued pupils appeared in matching ankara outfits to create a false impression, Olatunde explained that the clothing reflected an existing Oyo State policy requiring pupils in private primary schools to wear native attire on Fridays.

“They said the children were wearing matching ankara. Are they not in Oyo State? Don’t they know that the government has ordered that schoolchildren should be wearing native attire on Friday?

“Primary school pupils in private schools now wear native wears on Friday. We, the teachers, wore native attire, but secondary school pupils wore school uniform,” he explained.

Appealing to Nigerians to stop spreading misinformation about the incident, Olatunde insisted the victims genuinely suffered through the weeks-long captivity.

“So those that are saying it was staged are all telling lies. It was not staged. It was real. So please stop saying those types of things,” he said.

His remarks come amid sustained online scepticism following the Presidency’s announcement on July 10 that all 44 abducted pupils and teachers had been rescued after nearly two months in captivity.

The victims were kidnapped on May 15 when heavily armed men invaded Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School in the Ahoro-Esiele and Yawota communities of Oriire Local Government Area near Ogbomoso.

The attack claimed the life of Joel Adesiyan, the assistant headmaster of L.A. Primary School, who was reportedly shot dead while attempting to escape.

Days later, the abductors beheaded a Mathematics teacher, Michael Oyedokun, deepening national outrage over the incident.

The remaining captives regained their freedom on July 10 following a coordinated rescue operation involving the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Amotekun Corps and local vigilante groups.

The Presidency has maintained that no ransom was paid and that no concessions were granted to secure the victims’ release.