A survivor of the Oriire school abduction in Oyo State on Thursday recounted the 56-day “dehumanising” ordeal suffered by 49 pupils and teachers held by suspected Ansaru terrorists.
She told a Federal High Court in Abuja that the captives were forced to sleep on grass, drink filthy water and endure severe hunger while two teachers were k!lled.
The witness, identified only as “AAA” for security reasons, testified before Justice Salim Olasupo Ibrahim as the Department of State Services (DSS) re-arraigned five suspected members of the Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan (Ansaru) group on terrorism-related charges linked to the May 15, 2026 attack.
AAA told the court that armed men riding about 12 motorcycles stormed schools in Oriire Local Government Area, including Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School and L.A. Primary School, firing shots and preventing escape. The attackers herded away teachers and students — some as young as one-and-a-half years old — into the forest.
According to her testimony, the captives were moved through six different locations during their 56 days in captivity. They were forced to walk barefoot, often for hours at night when the kidnappers feared detection by security forces, and slept exposed on grass under heavy rain and intense sunshine.
Food was scarce and progressively worse. Initially the group was given rice mixed with salt and palm oil. When the salt ran out they received only rice and palm oil; later they were left with plain white rice served in a dirty rubber bucket.
Young children were flogged to stop them struggling for the limited portions. Water was heavily rationed — sometimes four people sharing a single cup of stenchy liquid that the captives drank only by closing their eyes.
Throughout the period, the victims had no opportunity to bathe or wash their clothes and became extremely dirty. AAA said the kidnappers’ leader told them they were being held to pressure the government into releasing detained Ansaru members rather than for ransom.
On two separate occasions, teachers Deacon John Olaleye and Michael Oyedokun were taken away and k!lled after the captors claimed the authorities were not responding to their demands. One account stated that Olaleye was beheaded.
The five defendants — Mahmud Muhammad (also known as Abu Bara’a), Abubakar Abbas, Abdulrazak Umar, Yunusa Musa and Shamsu Sani — pleaded not guilty to a seven-count amended charge bordering on terrorism, kidnapping and mürder. The trial continues, with cross-examination of the witness scheduled for Friday.
The remaining victims were rescued in a joint security operation in July 2026 after 56 days in captivity and handed over to Oyo State authorities. The case has drawn national attention as one of the most significant school abductions in the South-West in recent years.
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