A witness in the daring kidnapping of 49 students and teachers from Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State on Thursday, September 17, 2026, narrated before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, how they were subjected to intense torture and dehumanization for the 56 days they were in the captivity of the terrorists.
The witness who was testifying for the Department of State Services (DSS) and identified as AAA for security reasons, told Justice Salim Olasupo Ibrahim particularly described the horrific conditions in captivity as extremely harsh, stressing that they suffered severe hunger and were left thirsty for most of the time.
AAA further said that during water rationing, about four victims had to share a single cup of water, adding that even at that, the water provided by the terrorists was stenchy, but the victims had to close their eyes before drinking it.
In the words of the witness; “We had to drink the dirty water just to survive”.
The witness also told the court that they were moved barefooted through six different locations during their captivity and forced to sleep on grass under heavy rain and intense sunshine before they were eventually rescued by security forces.
Led in evidence by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, the DSS witness said the situation was particularly distressing as children as young as one and a half years old, including pupils from pre-nursery schools, were among those held captive during the period.
The witness told the court that the victims were abducted when a group of deadly armed men invaded their schools on motorcycles, shooting sporadically and practically prevented the students and teachers from escaping.
AAA further said the attackers, who arrived on about 12 motorcycles, took the victims into the bush, with each motorcycle reportedly carrying about four people, adding that a Toyota car belonging to one of the teachers was also used to transport some of the victims.
The witness also said that after they were taken into the bush, the leader of the kidnappers addressed them and informed them that they were being held to negotiate the release of members of the Ansaru group, rather than for ransom.
AAA said that on two occasions, two of the teachers among the captives were taken away and killed, with the kidnappers claiming that the government was not serious about meeting their demands.
The witness also told the court that the kidnappers used the mobile phones they seized from them to contact their relatives and government officials to negotiate their demands.
AAA said that initially, the captives were fed a combination of rice, salt and palm oil, adding that when the salt got finished, they were served rice and palm oil, and eventually served only plain white rice after they ran out of palm oil.
The DSS witness further said that the kidnappers flogged some of the young children to prevent them from struggling for food, saying that meals were served to the victims in plastic containers.
The witness said that throughout the 56 days in captivity, the victims had no opportunity to bathe or wash their clothes, thus leaving them extremely dirty by the time they were rescued.
AAA also told the court that their rescue took place when they were at the 6th camp, where security forces engaged the kidnappers in a gun battle before successfully freeing them.
Following the testimony, defence counsel, Bala Dakum, is expected to cross-examine the witness on Friday, September 18, as Justice Ibrahim ordered that the defendants should remain in the custody of the DSS throughout the duration of the trial.
