Tragedy struck in Dawaki, Abuja, after a school nurse and a 14-month-old toddler were murdered by kidnappers who later clashed over a N3 million ransom.
One of the suspects, David Moses, a security guard assigned to Clear Hope Foundation Academy, confessed to the killing of 55-year-old Mrs. Chinyere Anaene and the toddler, Nanenter Yese.
He made the confession on Friday while being paraded by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command.
According to Moses, he and an accomplice, identified as Sunday Irimiya currently at large hatched a plot to abduct the victims for ransom.
They initially demanded N250 million but later settled for N3 million, which was paid by the victims’ families.
“What brought me here is that I killed a child with a nurse at Clear Hope School on July 23,” Moses told reporters. “My friend and I demanded N250 million ransom. We later settled for N3 million, which we collected.”
Moses said a dispute over the ransom money led to Irimiya stabbing him and fleeing with the cash.
Injured and in fear for his life, he later turned himself in to a resident and requested police intervention.
The suspect revealed that the nurse was lured under the guise of inspecting a toilet facility, where Irimiya allegedly strangled her with a rope. The child was later abducted and killed on Irimiya’s insistence.
“He told me to bring the baby so we could also kill her,” Moses said. “I refused at first, but he insisted, saying the ransom wouldn’t be enough if we left the child alive.”
Moses claimed this was his first criminal act and that Mrs. Anaene had been kind to him, often giving him money for food — including N300 on the day she was murdered.
Meanwhile, Zachariah Fiyinfoluwa, a representative of the private security firm that deployed Moses to the school, disowned any knowledge of the accomplice, Sunday Irimiya, and admitted to lapses in documentation and oversight.
“For us not to keep the record, I accept that it’s our fault,” he stated, when questioned about the absence of proper employment records and the failure of supervisors to conduct routine checks.
FCT Commissioner of Police, Ajao Adewale, said the victims were reported missing on July 23 by the school and that a ransom demand was made via the caregiver’s phone the same day.
He confirmed the arrest of Moses and said police were still pursuing Irimiya.
The school principal, two other security guards, and the chief security officer of the security firm have also been arrested as part of ongoing investigations.
