FCT Police Arrest School Staff, Security Guard Over Nurse, Baby’s Murder After ₦3m Ransom
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested several suspects including a school security guard, members of staff, and the Chief Security Officer of a private security firm in connection with the gruesome murder of a school nurse and a 14-month-old baby, following the collection of a ₦3 million ransom.
The tragedy unfolded at Clear Hope Foundation Academy, located in Dawaki, Abuja, where the victims 55-year-old nurse Chinyere Anaene and toddler Nanenter Asher Yese were reported missing on July 23, 2025. Days later, the child’s family received a chilling ransom demand of ₦250 million, which was later reduced to ₦3 million, despite the victims already being dead.
According to a statement by the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, the breakthrough came when investigators tracked one of the suspects, David Moses, a security guard at the school, to a village in Nasarawa State.
Moses later confessed to the crime and led authorities to a canal where the bodies were recovered.
In a detailed confession, Moses admitted to working with an accomplice, Sunday Irimiya, who remains at large. Moses alleged that Irimiya strangled the nurse in a bathroom and pressured him to retrieve and kill the baby in order to increase their leverage in ransom negotiations.
The police said the suspects went ahead with collecting the ₦3 million ransom from the grieving family even after the victims were murdered.
Moses later had a falling out with his accomplice, who reportedly stabbed him during a dispute over how to split the ransom money. The altercation prompted Moses to turn himself in to the authorities.
As investigations progressed, the police also detained the school’s principal, two additional security guards, and the Chief Security Officer of the private security firm responsible for deploying guards to the school.
Authorities said the arrests were due to gross negligence in background checks and failure to supervise staff adequately.
“This case is a heartbreaking example of betrayal and abuse of trust within an institution meant to protect and educate children,” said SP Josephine Adeh, the FCT Police spokesperson.
Police are still pursuing the second suspect, Sunday Irimiya, and have urged the public to come forward with any useful information that could lead to his arrest.
