A school principal and more than 40 pupils and teachers abducted from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area (a district in Oyo State, southwestern Nigeria) on 15 May have been freed after a 56-day captivity, following a joint operation by the Nigerian Army, Air Force, police, intelligence services, and local vigilante groups. Rachael Alamu, principal of Community High School, Ahoro-Esinele, told journalists that young children were beaten and had their mouths covered to prevent noise, male captives were blindfolded, handcuffed and chained, and that one teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was beheaded by the kidnappers in a video that circulated widely. Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, who formally received the survivors from the military, called for United Nations and international human rights bodies to independently scrutinise the circumstances of the abduction, saying Nigerians deserve a full account of what occurred and that accountability must follow regardless of who bears responsibility.