I prayed not to die in the Forest, freed Ogbomoso principal recalls

Rachael Alamu, the freed abducted principal of Community High School, Esiele in the Oriire axis of Ogbomoso, Oyo state, has described her freedom and that of other captives as miraculous.

Alamu spoke on Sunday during a thanksgiving service at Antioch Baptist Church, Ogbomoso, describing her experience in captivity as the most traumatic period of her life.

The principal said the inhuman treatment to which she and others were subjected, as well as the harsh conditions she endured during her captivity, made her to God that her grave would not be in the forest.

“The release was miraculous. I cannot say this is what happened,” she recounted.

“But like the man in the Book of Luke who said, ‘I was blind, but now I can see,’ I know that I was incarcerated for a period of time, and at the right time God rescued me and brought me back to my people. So, I give glory unto the Lord.

“I specifically asked God for two things. One, I prayed that I would not meet an empty house. I knew how fragile my husband’s health was. The other thing I specifically asked was for my health. I told God my grave should not be numbered in the forest.”

The woman said although the abductees suffered throughout their stay in captivity, their ordeal became more harrowing in the final week because of intensified military operations around the kidnappers’ camp.

“Just one instance, apart from seeing the hand of God right from the beginning, the seventh week was the hardest for us all,” she said.

“That was when the troops increased their air raids. 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 grasses.”

The principal recalled that the poor living conditions took a toll on her health during the final days of captivity, but she believed God preserved her life.

She also recalled that the terrorists became angry after the government’s promise that the hostages would be released before the end of the week.

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

According to her, the camp commander later summoned her and threatened to kill one of the captives.

“He said, ‘Principal, come.’ I was already shaking because I knew what that could mean. Immediately, he said, ‘See what your government has done. I’m going to kill one of you today.’ I just fell down, rolling on the ground,” she recounted.

The principal said she later pleaded with the commander to reduce his ransom demand rather than carry out the threat.

“I said, ‘What your heart is asking for is beyond any of the victims’ families. Just ask for what we can run around for.’ He said, ‘Okay, I will send you a message,’” she recalled.

“Later in the night, we started hearing shovels working. The two men with us were shouting and pleading. We all knew what that meant. They were about to bury another person. But to the glory of God, they only asked us to move because they could no longer stay in that place.”

The principal also described the harsh conditions in the forest, saying hunger became a daily reality because the kidnappers feared smoke from cooking fires would expose their location.

“They were not free to prepare food because they were afraid the smoke would give them away. So we went hungry most of the time,” she said.