AP Nigeria video journalist Lekan Oyekanmi and photographer Sunday Alamba overcame countless obstacles to provide on-the-ground coverage from a remote area of northwest Nigeria after the abduction of 300 students from a school in Katsina state. With perseverance, stamina and resourcefulness, the pair delivered content for a series of powerful stories in all formats, including live video coverage of the eventual release of the students.
The pair had been filming supermodel Naomi Campbell at Lagos Fashion Week when news of the mass abduction broke. After arranging with local stringers for AP’s first images from the school in Kankara village, Oyekanmi and Alamba flew north, then drove for hours over single-lane roads, dodging trucks and potholes, and talking their way through security checkpoints to reach Kankara, a town now in shock. After making images — captured with difficulty among a populace cowed by fear — more hours of travel followed to reach a safe town where they could file photos and video, and get some sleep.
As efforts to secure the release of the children continued over the coming days, the work pattern repeated: six or more hours on the road, then filing late into the night with visuals and reporting that brought detail and color to text stories.
The mother of a freed schoolboy cries as she waits for a reunion with her son in Katsina, Nigeria, Dec. 18, 2020. More than 300 schoolboys kidnapped a week earlier from their school in northwest Nigeria arrived in the capital of Katsina state after their release.
AP Photo / Sunday Alamba
Shoes of kidnapped students from the Government Science Secondary School are strewn inside their classroom Kankara, Nigeria, Dec. 16, 2020. Rebels from the Boko Haram extremist group claimed responsibility for abducting more than 300 boys from the school in Nigeria’s northern Katsina State.
AP Photo / Sunday Alamba
Some of the more than 300 kidnapped schoolboys are shown in Katsina, Nigeria, Dec. 18, 2020, following their release after they were abducted a week earlier from the all-boys Government Science Secondary School in Kankara village.
AP Photo / Sunday Alamba
When they learned that the release of the boys had finally been secured, Oyekanmi and Alamba rushed to the state capital, staying up all night to wait for the students’ arrival. When the freed boys finally did arrive the next morning, Oyekanmi was ready with LiveU gear, streaming exclusive live coverage of their return, while Alamba filed first photos via Whatsapp. Both formats scored heavy usage by AP global clients.