LAGOS, Nigeria — The husband of a kidnapped Nigerian secondary school principal revealed on Monday, July 27, 2026, that he blocked the phone numbers of her abductors during her time in captivity to protect his deteriorating health.
Golden Info reports that Professor Wole Alamu made the disclosure during a thanksgiving service following the release of his wife, Rachael Alamu, the principal of Ahoro Esinle School in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The principal was abducted by gunmen alongside teachers and pupils on May 15, 2026. The victims spent more than 50 days in captivity before the Federal Government of Nigeria announced a successful rescue operation.
Professor Alamu communicated directly with the kidnappers for approximately three weeks. He stated that the constant threats left him emotionally drained and physically destabilized, causing a severe spike in his blood pressure. “When my wife was abducted, I was chatting with the abductors for the first three weeks,” he said. “I was threatened and immediately they threatened me, I was always destabilised. There was a day I went for a medical check-up. They sent me a text message and I became destabilised. By the time I got to the clinic, I could not even do the check-up because my blood pressure had already increased.”
After concluding that the communication endangered his life, he blocked their numbers. “That day I decided I would block these people,” he said. “You cannot kill me here and kill her there. Choose one. If you want to take her, she is going to be with Christ. You cannot kill the two of us at the same time.” The abductors subsequently informed the principal that her husband had severed contact and left a cutlass beside her.
According to her husband, the principal responded directly to the armed men. “My wife replied immediately, ‘I will not kill myself and you too will not kill me,’” he said. He also noted the rapid deployment of state security forces following the initial abduction, stating that the General Officer Commanding of the 2nd Mechanised Division and the Commissioner of Police arrived at the location within 45 minutes, supported by two helicopters. The family received international support during the ordeal, including calls from individuals in California and Los Angeles in the United States.