By Adetokunbo FAKEYE
Nigeria – The fight that ensured during sharing of Three millions naira, N3m, ransom collected by the kidnappers of an Abuja caregiver and a toddler entrusted in her care has led to the arrest of the suspects by the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, police.
Confirming the arrest, the FCT Command spokesperson, SP Josephine Adeh stated that, “On July 23, 2025, the FCT Police Command received a distress report concerning the sudden disappearance of Mrs. Chinyere Anaene, a 55-year-old school nurse and caregiver at Clear Hope Foundation Academy, Dawaki, Abuja, and a toddler identified as Nanenter Asher Yese, aged one year and two months.
“On the same day, the husband of the caregiver received a call on the caregivers mobile phone wherein unidentified individuals demanded a ransom of ₦250 million for their release.
“The Command’s Anti-Kidnapping Unit was quickly activated, and digital forensic tracking commenced, leading to a location in Yelwa and Uke villages in Nasarawa state where a coordinated search operation by the Anti-Kidnapping team commenced.
“On July 29th, through diligent intelligence gathering and field operations, operatives arrested one David Moses, a security guard at the school, who was initially believed to be a victim. However, during a thorough interrogation, he confessed to have conspired with his best friend, one Sunday Irimiya (still at large) to perpetrate the brutal crime.
“During interrogation, the suspect confessed to the Police that he and his friend Sunday (who is still at large), lured the caregiver to the school’s bathroom, where Sunday was already hiding behind the bathroom door. They both hit her on the head and strangled her to death. David went to one of the class rooms, took one of the toddlers to the bathroom and strangled the baby to death. They tied up the corpses in a sack, put it in a scavengers truck, took it out of the school and dumped them in a canal.
“Despite killing the victims, the suspects deceitfully demanded the sum of ₦3 million from the victims family using the caregivers phone under the false promise of releasing the victims alive. Following a disagreement over the ransom sharing, Sunday allegedly stabbed David Moses in an attempt to kill him and abscond with the money. David fled the scene and ran into police operatives who were already combing the area.
“David Moses was immediately arrested and has since led the police to the canal where the victims’ remains were recovered.
“In the course of our investigation, the police also arrested the school principal, two additional security guards who were meant to be on duty with David Moses, and the Chief Security Officer of the private security company responsible for deploying the guards to the school.
“The Command expresses its deepest condolences to the families of Mrs. Anaene and Baby Nanenter. We understand that no words can adequately convey the depth of your loss, but we stand with you in your grief and are committed to ensuring that justice is served.
“This unfortunate incident highlights the urgent need for all private security companies to properly profile their personnel through the Nigeria Police Force before deployment. Schools and other institutions must involve the police in vetting private security guards, as part of proactive measures to safeguard lives and property, particularly when children and vulnerable persons are involved.
“The investigation remains ongoing, and efforts are being intensified to apprehend the fleeing suspect and bring all those involved in this gruesome act to justice.
“We call on residents of the FCT and neighboring communities to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the nearest police station or through our emergency lines”.
