The release of the kidnapped students and teachers from Oriire community is a moment of collective relief. But let us not mistake their physical freedom for a return to normal life. What they endured—fear, humiliation, violence, uncertainty, helplessness—does not vanish when the ropes are cut. Many who survive such ordeals become prisoners of their own minds, haunted by trauma that demands urgent and professional care.
We are grateful they are home. The emotional toll on the community, especially after the brutal murder of a schoolteacher, has been staggering. Yet we have been dangerously casual about understanding trauma and its lasting scars. That must change now.
The immediate priority is therapy. These students and teachers need long-term psychosocial support, starting the moment they step through their doors. Survival ends physical captivity but ignites mental captivity. After trauma, survivors often feel afraid, anxious, depressed, or ashamed. They may be jumpy, suffer nightmares, struggle to trust others, shut down emotionally, or find it hard to concentrate. Memories of violence and threats replay without warning. Children may act out in unusual ways—becoming unnaturally quiet, aggressive, clingy, or terrified of school. They may refuse to sleep alone. Teachers, burdened by guilt for not protecting their students or themselves, may sink into helplessness and severe post-traumatic stress. Without professional care, these wounds fester, impairing learning, family life, social bonds, and future well-being.
Surviving kidnapping is not a clean break. Victims can experience nightmares, panic attacks, depression, and anxiety. They may feel emotionally numb, constantly on edge, suspicious of everyone. Insomnia, poor appetite, trouble focusing, and flashbacks are common. Some relive the ordeal obsessively; others avoid any reminder—people, places, conversations, or activities. If these symptoms appear, it is not weakness. It is post-traumatic stress disorder, and it demands proper mental health treatment. Religious support and family love are vital, but they cannot replace professional care.
Children and teens need special attention. They may lack the words to express their pain. They may suffer silently or lash out with aggression. Bed-wetting, clinginess, plummeting grades, and an unexplained fear of strangers are red flags. Some may refuse to return to school. Throwing them back into a classroom without psychological evaluation will only deepen their trauma. Their return to normalcy must be gradual, guided by trained professionals—psychologists, counselors, social workers, and doctors.
Oriire itself may need communal healing. Kidnapping does not only wound victims; it tears at families, friends, classmates, colleagues, and neighbors whose lives are upended by fear and uncertainty. Community meetings, memorial services, thanksgiving gatherings, mental health education on security, and spaces for collective reflection can build resilience.
Released teachers deserve focused support. They may grapple with guilt for failing to keep students safe, anxiety about returning to work, fear of another attack, or career uncertainty. As parents and authority figures, they may struggle to ask for help or show emotion, believing they must stay strong for others. Confidential counseling and peer-support groups can help them process their ordeal without stigma.
Trauma-informed health practitioners should conduct urgent medical checks for injuries, infections, malnutrition, dehydration, and other ailments. Survivors need one-on-one, group, and family counseling, along with long-term mental health support. Parents and families must be educated on how to support survivors without pressuring them to talk, blaming them, exposing them to media, or treating them like children.
Ideally, the government should work with school administrators, community leaders, religious groups, public health agencies, and civil society to create a coherent rehabilitation program. Survivors’ privacy and dignity must be respected. Their names, photos, and stories should not be traded for political gain or clickbait headlines. Recovery demands time, safety, confidentiality, and trust.
Until the psychological needs of these students and teachers are addressed, their freedom remains incomplete. Therapy is not a privilege or a sign of weakness. It is an essential part of rescue, relief, and justice. The government and security forces’ job is not done until survivors are physically healthy, emotionally informed, securely reintegrated into their communities, and able to return to daily life without being haunted by what happened.
