The principal of Esinle Community High School, Mrs. Rachel Alamu, has recounted the harrowing experience of her 56-day captivity, revealing that the most terrifying moment came during the seventh week when intensified military airstrikes around the kidnappers' camp left the hostages fearing they could be killed by missiles.

Mrs. Alamu, who was abducted alongside teachers and pupils from the school in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, shared her ordeal on Sunday during a thanksgiving service at Antioch Baptist Church, Ogbomoso, where she returned to thank God for preserving her life.

Describing the period as the darkest phase of their captivity, she said the military bombardment became so intense that the captives feared the air raids more than the armed bandits holding them.

"The seventh week was the hardest for us all. That was when the troops increased their air raids. It was so intense that, at a point, the fear of the bandits became secondary.

"We were just praying that missiles would not accidentally drop on us. We were so afraid. Amidst that fear, God consoled our hearts."

According to Alamu, before the military offensive intensified, the kidnappers had informed the captives that Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde had reportedly assured them they would regain their freedom before Friday, raising hopes that their ordeal was almost over.

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

She said tensions escalated when one of the gang commanders summoned her.

"Towards the end of that week, the commander came and said, 'Principal, come!' I was already shaking because I knew what that could mean."

The commander, she said, blamed the government for disrupting their operations before threatening to execute one of the hostages.

"He said, 'See what your government has done. I'm going to kill one of you today.' I just fell to the ground and started rolling, crying."

Mrs. Alamu said she desperately pleaded with the gang leader to spare their lives.

"I told him, 'I brought four men, only two are remaining, and you still want to take more. I already know that the loss of the other two will continue to haunt me for the rest of my life.'"

She said the commander unexpectedly calmed down and sought her advice on resolving the standoff.

"Very unlike him, he asked, 'Now your government is doing this, what do you want me to do?' I told him, 'What you are asking for is beyond any of the victims' families. Just ask for what we can run around for.'"

The frightening ordeal continued later that night when the captives heard the sound of shovels digging into the ground.

"I thought the matter had ended. Later in the night, we started hearing shovels, and my men started crying, shouting, 'Mama, talk to them. They have started digging the ground.'"

She said the captives believed the kidnappers were digging graves in preparation for their execution.

However, she said the feared killings never happened as the bandits later ordered the hostages to move instead.

"To the glory of God, they later told us to start moving. They told me to warn the children to stop crying; otherwise, they would kill them. But how do you explain to a two- or three-year-old child not to cry or ask for food?"

Mrs. Alamu also disclosed that throughout the ordeal, she constantly prayed not only for her freedom but also that she would return home to find her family safe, particularly because of her husband's fragile health.

"I also prayed to God not to meet an empty home because I knew my husband's health."

Reflecting on the 56-day ordeal, the school principal attributed the survival of all the captives to divine intervention, saying it was only God's mercy that prevented the kidnappers from carrying out their repeated threats.