By Peter Omopo / Abuja, August 1, 2025
In a chilling case that has shocked the nation, a 28-year-old security guard, David Moses, has confessed to the brutal murder of a school nurse and a 14-month-old child at Clear Hope Foundation Academy, located in the Dawaki area of Abuja, following a failed ransom plot.
Paraded before journalists at the Federal Capital Territory Police Command on Friday, Moses admitted that he and his accomplice—identified as Sunday Irimiya, who is currently on the run—hatched a plan to kidnap the victims for ransom. They initially demanded ₦250 million from the family, but later accepted ₦3 million, despite having already killed the victims.
“What brought me here is that I killed a child and a nurse in Clear Hope School on July 23,” Moses said during the interrogation. “We demanded ₦250 million, then settled for ₦3 million, which we collected before the incident turned violent between me and Sunday.”
According to Moses, a disagreement over the ransom money led to Sunday stabbing him and fleeing with the cash. In a desperate attempt to survive, Moses sought help from a local resident and eventually confessed to the police after receiving treatment in a hospital.
He recounted how the nurse, Mrs. Chinyere Anaene, aged 55, was lured into a trap under the pretense of checking a toilet. There, Sunday strangled her with a rope. Under pressure from his accomplice, Moses later brought the toddler, Nanenter Asher Yese, who was also killed.
“I didn’t want to bring the baby, but Sunday insisted, saying we needed more leverage for the ransom,” he said. “That woman was kind to me. On the day she died, she gave me ₦300 to buy food.”
In response to the heinous crime, Commissioner of Police Ajao Adewale revealed that the school principal, two other security guards, and the Chief Security Officer of the private security firm that hired Moses have all been arrested.
“Despite having murdered the victims, the suspects continued to extort money from the family, pretending the victims were alive,” Adewale said.
The FCT Police Command first received the report of the victims’ disappearance on July 23. That same day, the caregiver’s husband received a ransom call from her phone. Following an intense investigation, Moses was apprehended and confessed to the crime, implicating his now-fugitive accomplice.
A representative of the security company, Zachariah Fiyinfoluwa, distanced the firm from the crime, claiming he was unaware of any accomplice named Sunday and that only Moses was officially posted to the school. However, he admitted the firm’s failure to properly document Moses’ employment or retain a guarantor’s information.
“For not keeping proper records, we accept it was our fault,” Fiyinfoluwa said under questioning.
The police have pledged to continue the manhunt for Sunday while assuring the public that all individuals and entities found complicit will face the full weight of the law.
The horrifying murders have triggered outrage across the country and renewed calls for stricter background checks, improved school security protocols, and regulation of private security firms.
