Freed Children of the Senior Secondary School students of Lagos Model College, Igbonla Epe, have recounted their experiences in the abductors’ den.

One of the students explained how they attempted to escape from the den when it became apparent that the kidnappers were not in a hurry to release them quickly.

It was further revealed that the kidnappers had shrines in their camps where they consulted oracles before making calls to demand for ransom.

One of them (names withheld) who spoke with Vanguard yesterday disclosed that they planned to escape in their second week in captivity.

He stated that it took them two weeks to finalise the plan.

But on the fateful day, one of them fell sick and too weak to join them.

According to him, “On that fateful night, I woke up first before going to wake others up. By this time, we had been taught how to swim by one of us. We took turns to learn whenever we went to bath. The plan was for us to take one of the boats and escape even though we did not know the direction to head to.

“We intended to head towards the direction we came from. But as we were about to embark on the mission, we noticed that one of us was sick and was too weak to walk. I suggested that we should leave all the same but another person said it won’t be nice to leave him behind since we were abducted together. He also suggested that we shelve the escape plan because it would not be easy to carry him along. We decided to carry out the plan whenever he gets well. But there was no other opportunity until we were rescued.”

Another student concurred, adding that the sick student must have been used by God to avert what he described as a suicide mission.

The latter said, “We were to take a bush path of close to 20 minutes walk before arriving where the abductors’ boats were berthed. But the illness of one of us was the miracle that saved us because we later discovered that some of the kidnappers used to sleep on the trees from where they look out for intruders.”

The student also narrated how a fisherman who showed the kidnappers the route out of Igbonla on the day of the kidnap was killed.

He said, “On the day we were abducted, the kidnappers missed their way in the bush path they took. They saw a man who directed them to where their boats were waiting. They told the man to escort them to the place. But by the time they sighted their boats, they shot the man three times, killing him on the spot.”

One of the freed students, in Ajakpa community, Ese Odo council area of Ondo state, said their abductors usually left them in the camp and went hunting. He said they usually came back at times with bush meat and at other times, they would be giving sardines and bread.

He further stated that they were well fed while at the third camp in Ondo creek, adding that they never knew how the food was brought to the kidnappers store room.

A mother of one of the kids, who was heard calling her son to come inside the apartment, said, “Few days after their abduction, they contacted us to demand for ransom. My son said that their captors had a shrine in the camp where they made consultations before negotiating ransom. He said that they used to kill animals to appease their gods to guide them and to make them excel in the negotiation for ransom at the end of which they would promise the oracle what to sacrifice to it should the deal succeed. He said that the kidnappers also performed rituals whenever they were going out of the camp, apparently to avoid being arrested. At such times he said they (students) would be praying silently, nullifying every incantations against them.”

Again, another student disclosed that while in the camp, corpses of some kidnappers were brought to the camp.

He said, “While at the camp, they brought bodies of some of their members who they said were killed by security agents who wanted to rescue us. By then, they had already relocated us to another camp. We learned that those they met were manning the camp for another set of victims who were to be kidnapped that night. It was at this point that they became brutal and started beating us.”

The released students are expected at LASUTH for another round of medical checks.

Speaking on the test, mother of one of the students, confirmed that her son was officially released to her after medical experts at LASUTH concluded their test, adding that they were asked to report back today.