Education district 111 welcomes Igbonla 6 with prayers

The Tutor General Permanent Secretary, Education District 111, Mrs Solarin Margaret Titilayo

along with all principals and some members of staff of the district held a prayer and Thanksgiving ceremony to welcome the recently released Lagos State Senior Model College, Igbonla students who were kidnapped and held in captivity for 64 days.

The programme was held at the Dolphin High School, Sura, Lagos.
Speaking at the event, the TGPS said the 64 days were very agonising for her as she added that she had been dreaming of the day the boys will be released.
She thanked governor Akinwunmi Ambode and his deputy Idiat Adebule for the the role they played in securing the children. "All through the period whenever we go to her we prayed together and she assured us that the children will be released," she said.

One of the parents, Mrs Beatrice Jonah who is also a principal in one of the government schools said at a point during the time the children were in captivity she cried everyday.
"Sometimes I called the TGPS, and cry my heart out and she cried several times with me."
According to her one of the boys, Ramon Isiaka popularly called "the general" wanted to escape with the others but one of them fell sick so they couldn't carryout his plans.
She explained that on the day of the kidnap she had made plans to attend the Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT election and didn't have any premonition of the kidnap.
"I was saying they should not pay us yet that anything can happen not knowing that something would happen to me. By morning I received a message that kidnappers were at Igbonla and immediately had a feeling that my son Peter was kidnapped but I rejected it as a christian and left for  Igbonla.
" On my way another message came in that the kidnappers didn't succeed  so I calmed down and kept going but when  I got there and saw the look on their faces and their behaviour, I knew something was wrong.

"But again when I got inside and asked my son's friend Posi of my son and he replied that he was  in his hostel, I calmed down again but after a while, the news was broken to me that my son was kidnapped long with five others. I cried and went to Ikorodu to do my work because I knew that the kidnappers would not contact us that day."

Two of the parents, Mrs Abosede Adesola Agbaossi and Mrs Beatrice Jonah who went to deliver the ransom money acted a short drama to show what they went through in the hands of the kidnappers in the forest.