The abductors of the principal of Community High School, Ahoro-Esinle in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, Mrs Rachael Alamu, have declined to engage with her family and are insisting on communicating only with government representatives.

Her husband, Professor Wole Alamu, a lecturer at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), said the family has been unable to open direct negotiations since the abduction, which occurred more than two weeks ago.

According to him, the kidnappers relay messages exclusively through WhatsApp and have refused all attempts at family-level dialogue.

 “They said they don’t want to talk to us. They only want to talk to the government. Anytime they want to communicate, they send messages to me through WhatsApp,” he said.

Mrs Alamu was abducted on May 15 during an armed attack on the school premises. The incident reportedly resulted in the death of some teachers, while several students and staff members were taken away by the attackers. A vehicle belonging to the principal was also set ablaze during the raid.

Professor Alamu said he first received a distress call at about 9:20 a.m. on the day of the attack, shortly after he and his wife had left home for work in different directions.

“I rushed back and discovered that some teachers had been killed while many students and teachers were abducted,” he said.

He added that since the incident, there has been no direct contact with his wife, except for videos believed to have been produced under duress by the abductors.

Security agencies, including the Department of State Services (DSS), have been notified of the phone numbers being used by the kidnappers, according to him.

Professor Alamu also noted that the Oyo State Government has been involved in ongoing efforts to address the situation, expressing appreciation for its response.

He described his wife as an educationist committed to rural service, noting that she had been travelling about 62 kilometres daily to her posting since August 2024 and had no known conflict within the community.

Efforts to secure her release are continuing as the family awaits further communication from the abductors.