Adebayo Adenrele
One of the survivors of the 56-day abduction of staff and pupils of Orire Baptist School, Oyo State, Zacheaus Olatunde, has revealed why terrorists beheaded one Michael Oyedokun and killed Deacon John Olaleye, while they were held in captivity.
Speaking about the traumatic 56-day experience, Olatunde said the terrorists accused Oyedokun of disobeying their instructions by concealing a mobile phone after they had ordered all abductees to surrender their devices upon arriving at the forest hideout.
According to him, the abductors had instructed everyone to drop their phones immediately they reached the camp and all appeared to have complied.
However, while they were being transported on motorcycles, one of the terrorists discovered a phone in Oyedokun’s pocket.
Olatunde said the group’s overall commander became furious after hearing the report and declared that someone had to pay for the alleged act of disobedience, saying “If I don’t kill anyone, I must kill this man for disobeying my order”.
The survivor said Oyedokun was taken away the following day and beheaded.
“The terrorist sitting with him found the phone and began questioning him. He slapped him before reporting the matter to their commander.
“He was crying and begging as they dragged him away. We could hear him shouting until his voice suddenly went silent”.
Olatunde added that one of the younger terrorists later celebrated the killing by dancing and singing around the camp.
He also disclosed that Deacon John Olaleye was killed on June 7 after the terrorists accused security forces of violating their warning against moving close to the camp.
According to the survivor, the kidnappers blamed military operations around their hideout for Olaleye’s death.
“They said they had warned that soldiers should not come close to their location. They took him away and killed him. We only heard his cries because they never carried out the killings in our presence.
“They would beat us whenever they caught us praying. They said they didn’t want us to call on Jesus.
“Eventually, they told us to leave so that their families could also be released. They directed us through the route to follow until we met security personnel waiting to receive us” he added
