The Principal of Community High School, Ahoro-Esinle in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, Mrs. Rachael Alamu, yesterday joined members of Antioch Baptist Church, Ogbomoso, for a thanksgiving service following her release and that of 43 others from captivity.

They were abducted on May 15.

The thanksgiving service drew family members, congregants, friends and well-wishers.

The kidnapped victims were rescued on July 10 by security operatives from the National Park after spending 56 days in the den of terrorists.

She recounted the days of horror during the thanksgiving service.

“It was so intense and persistent that, at a point, the fear of the bandits became secondary. We were just praying that missiles would not be accidentally dropped on us. But God kept us because we were so exposed, only covered with polythene bags and grass. So, amidst that fear, God consoled our hearts.

“That week started on Monday. They had told us the previous week that the governor had said that before Friday of the following week, we would be released. So we were calm. But when the air raids started on Tuesday, they became so furious.

“Towards the end of that week, the commander came and said, ‘Principal, come!’ I was already shaking because I knew what that could mean. Then he said, ‘See what your government has done. I’m going to kill one of you today.’

“I just fell, rolling on the ground. I said, ‘I brought four men. There are only two remaining. You still want to take another one?’ I already know that the deaths of the other two will continue to haunt me for a long time. I was just rolling on the ground.

“Unlike me, he became calm. He said they should call me after he left our place. He said, ‘Now that the government has been doing this, what do you want us to do?’

“I said, ‘What your heart asks for is beyond any victim’s family. Just ask for what we can run around for.’ He said, ‘Okay, I will send you a message.’ I thought that had settled it.

“Later in the night, we started hearing shovels digging. My men, the two of them, were shouting. I was crying because we all knew what that meant. They were about to bury another person. Those two were shouting and pleading.

“But to the glory of God, that night they just asked us to move because they could no longer stay in that place. They themselves would be asked to leave.

He would say, ‘Mama, Principal, tell them we are ready to sacrifice any one of us if they make noise. They cannot kill all of us.’

“How do you tell a one-year, three-month-old baby not to cry? How do you tell a two-year-old child not to ask for food? During those periods, they were not free to cook because they were afraid that the smoke would give away their location.

“So, we went hungry most of the time. But to the glory of God, we left that camp for the last camp before we were rescued and released.

“While I was there, apart from praying for God’s deliverance, I specifically asked for two things. First, I prayed that I would not return to an empty house.

I knew how fragile my husband’s health was.

“At a point, when they told me he had cut off communication, I said, ‘Something has happened to him. He wouldn’t have done that on his own.’

“When we were rescued, I was so persistent that one of the army officers had to put a call through to him so I could speak with him. Then I knew God had answered that prayer.

“The other thing I specifically asked for was good health. The place was so terrible that anything could have happened.

“I told God, ‘My grave should not be in the forest.’ And God helped me. We were in a place where, when you were shaking with fever, the first question was, ‘Is it malaria or ordinary fever?’ The solution was two tablets of paracetamol or whatever they called it.

“That last week, on Sunday, because of the stress I had gone through in the seventh week, I broke down. My temperature was through the roof, and I was shivering. So I called one of them, the camp commander, and asked if I could have two tablets of paracetamol.

“He said, ‘No problem.’ The woman sitting next to me said, ‘Mommy, this is not paracetamol.’

“I said, ‘God will work with it.’ I took the tablets and, to the glory of God, it was as if I had never shown symptoms of malaria. It was God’s hand.”

“The release was miraculous. I cannot say this is what happened. Just like the man in the Book of Luke who said, when they asked him, ‘This man is a sinner; this man is this or that,’ he replied, ‘I don’t know. But what I know is that I was blind, but now I can see.’

“I know that I was held captive for a period of time and, at the right time, God rescued me and brought me back to my people. So I give glory to the Lord. I thank God for what He has done. My family cannot thank Him enough.” (The Nation)

Update news