Crime

How we killed nurse, child in Abuja school after collecting ransom – Suspect

Published

8 months ago

August 1, 2025

A man identified as David Moses has confessed to the gruesome killing of a school nurse and a 14-month-old child at a school in the Dawaki area of Abuja, blaming his actions on pressure from an alleged accomplice named Sunday, who is currently at large.

Moses, a security guard deployed to the school, made the confession while being interrogated by journalists at the Federal Capital Territory police command on Friday.

He said he and Sunday had planned to kidnap the victims for ransom, initially demanding ₦250 million before settling for ₦3 million.

“What brought me here is that I killed a child with a nurse in Clear Hope School on July 23. Me and my friend, we demanded for ₦250 ransom. Later on, we later settled for ₦3 million. Which we collected,” he said.

According to him, the incident took a violent turn when a dispute over the ransom money broke out between him and Sunday.

He added that he later sought help and eventually confessed to the police after receiving treatment in a hospital.

“When we collected the money and were sharing it, that was when we had an issue. My friend stabbed me with a knife, took the money, and ran away. I struggled and took myself to someone’s house and told the person what was going on. But I didn’t tell the full truth at that time because I was afraid the community might have killed me immediately.

“I insisted on seeing the police so they could take me to the hospital and I could explain the whole story properly. The man told me to wait while he called the police. When the police came, they took me to the hospital. After I received treatment, they began to ask me what happened, and I started narrating the whole story from the beginning.”

Detailing how the school nurse was killed, Moses said she was lured into a trap under the guise of checking something in a toilet, where Sunday allegedly strangled her with a rope.

Moses said, “I went to call her from her class, while Sunday was hiding in the toilet. When I called her, I told her I wanted to show her something near the front toilet where Sunday was hiding. As we were going, he came out from behind and held the woman. He put a rope around her neck and started strangling her she struggled but eventually became weak.”

The child, he said, was later also taken and killed at Sunday’s insistence.

Moses said, “Then he told me to run and go bring the baby so we could also kill the baby. I said no, that the woman alone was enough. He insisted, saying that if we didn’t bring the baby, the ransom we demanded wouldn’t be enough. So, I went and brought the baby.”

When asked how many people he had killed or kidnapped before, he said, “I have never done such a thing. This was the first time someone pushed me into any evil act.”

Probed further on his relationship with the woman and the baby, he said she gave him ₦300 to buy food the day she was killed.

Moses said, “There’s no relationship. The woman was nice to me. In fact, that very day, she gave me ₦300 to buy food. She had been giving me money to eat even before then.”

Zachariah Fiyinfoluwa, a representative of the security company that employed Moses distanced himself from the crime, saying he was only informed of the disappearance of the nurse and child after the school principal raised an alarm.

“I don’t know anybody called Sunday. The person we posted to the school is David,” he said.

However, under questioning, Fiyinfoluwa admitted that the company failed to properly document Moses’ employment, including failing to keep his guarantor’s information.

“For us not to keep the record, I accept that it’s our fault,” he said.

When pressed further on the company’s responsibility, especially for the safety of persons within the premises, Fiyinfoluwa admitted that supervisors were supposed to routinely visit deployment sites but did not confirm if such oversight occurred at Claire Hope School.

In an interview with the Commissioner of Police, Ajao Adewale said the victims were reported missing on July 23, 2025, from the school the same day, a ransom demand of ₦250 million was made via the caregiver’s phone.

The CP said following an investigation, police operatives arrested Moses, who later confessed to conspiring with his friend, Sunday Irimiya currently at large to carry out the crime.

He said, “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 caregiver’s mobile phone wherein unidentified individuals demanded a ransom of ₦250 million for their release.”

“Despite having killed the victims, they still demanded ₦3 million from the family under the pretence that the victims were alive,” Adewale said.

He said the police have also arrested the school principal, two other security guards, and the Chief Security Officer of the private security company that deployed Moses to the school.

“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, ” he said.

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Crime

Court affirms final forfeiture of $13m traced to Aisha Achimugu to Nigerian Govt

Published

2 hours ago

March 25, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has affirmed the final forfeiture to the Federal Government, the sum of $13 million linked to a Lagos socialite, Ms Aisha Achimugu and her Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd.

In a judgment on Wednesday, Justice Nwite held that the foreign currency has been well established by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to be proceeds of fraud and unlawful activities.

Delivering judgment in a suit instituted by
Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd to claim the fund, the judge held that the company failed woefully to establish how it came about the money.

On the contrary, Justice Nwite said the EFCC satisfied all requirements for the fund to be classified as proceeds of fraud and to be forfeited to the appropriate authority.

The judge dismissed the claims that the
$13 million was gifts received by Oceangate Engineering Company through Aisha Achimugu, adding that the said Aisha Achimugu never came to the court to show cause on why the huge fund should not be forfeited to the Federal Government.

Justice Nwite also noted that no single person who gave the monetary gift to Aisha Achimugu to the tune of $13 million was called to testify.

The judge held that the burden to establish genuine ownership of the money was not established by the applicant to counter the claims of the anti- graft agency that the money was proceeds of fraud based on its investigation.

According to the judge, Oceangate Engineering Company did not show the business it undertook that fetched it the money and did not also show whether any payment was made to it by any of its customers.

Justice Nwite had on 22 August 2025, granted the anti-graft agency’s ex-parte motion for an interim order forfeiting the sum of $13 million linked to Oceangate Ltd to the Federal Government over allegations that the fund was a proceed of unlawful activity.

The judge had then directed the Commission to publish the order in a national daily for interested person(s) to show cause within 14 days why the fund should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

EFCC investigator, Usman Aliyu, swore to an affidavit filed in support of the application, stating that the Commission received a credible intelligence report alleging that a company known as Oceangate Engineering Limited, without following due process, used funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity to acquire oil blocks from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC.

Aliyu said investigations revealed that Oceangate, a limited liability company, was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC, on 25 February 2005 with number: RC 617736.

He said in 2024, Oceangate participated in an oil block licensing bid for deep offshore PPL302 and shallow water- PPL 3007.

He said upon completion of technical and commercial bid, NUPRC notified the company of its winning bidder status and the condition precedent to be fulfilled before issuance of a licence to the company.

Aliyu said it was discovered that the total financial obligations of Oceangate Ltd to the government before the issuance of the Petroleum Prospecting License (PPL) to the company was $37.2 million ($37, 223,144).

He said the company, through its Zenith Bank account number – 5074678281 – at different installments, transferred millions of dollars to the Federal Government, in tranches of $1.1 million, $1.1 million, $3.8 million, $1.2 million, $3.05 million, $2.1 million, and $500, 000.

The investigator said that on 27 and 28 March 2025, Providus Bank Limited, acting for and on behalf of Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited, transferred the total sum of $7 million to the Federal Government.

He said his team recovered the evidence of these transactions through Providus Bank Limited from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, through a letter dated June 24,02025.

He said the company between 20 March 2025 and 3 April 2025, paid the total sum of $20 million to the Federal Government for the acquisition of the PPL 302 and PPL 3007.

The officer alleged that to fulfil the requirements for payments of the signature bonuses for PPL 302 and PPL 3007, Oceangate conspired with some unlicensed Bureau de Change operators and bank officials to retain and transfer funds totalling $13 million which funds are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.

The affidavit stated, “That one Suleiman Muhammed Chiroma was procured and aided by Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited to collect through his associates in cash and without going through a financial institution, both in Abuja and Lagos the total sum of $13,000,000.00.

“That whilst acting in concert with Oceangate Limited, Muhammed Chiroma engaged one Dantani Abubakar Hassan of Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited and one Tirmizi Muhammed Usman of Tripple A & Tee Oil Nigeria Limited, to collect the said $9 million in cash and without going through a financial Institution for the sole purpose of using same to pay for the signature bonuses of the two oil blocks allocated to Oceangate Oil and Gas Limited.”

Aliyu alleged that the company equally procured Chiroma, Tirmizi Usman and Dantani Hassan to receive funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities from different contractors with the Lagos State Government.

He said to receive and retain funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity from different contractors with Lagos State, Dantani Abubakar used his company, Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited, with account number 1229255048 domiciled in Zenith Bank Plc.

“That whilst still working in concert with Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited and Suleiman Chiroma, Dantani Abubakar used his company, Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited with account Number 1907084038 domiciled in Access Bank Plc to receive and retain the total sum of N855, 057, 560.00 from different contractors executing contracts for and on behalf of the Lagos State Government which sum reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity,” the investigator added.

He said the combined sum of N2, 455, 651, 560.00 received in both Zenith and Access Bank accounts of Ashrab Energy were converted to US dollars and subsequently transferred same to Oceangate’s Zenith Bank account for onward payment for the signature bonus of the two oil blocks – PPL 302 and PPL 3007 allocated to the company, among other averments.

Aliyu insisted that the $13 million used by Oceangate to pay for the Signature Bonuses in respect of PPL302 and PPL3007 were not proceeds of any lawful and legitimate business but rather represent funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.

According to him, part of the funds used by Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Limited to pay for the Signature bonuses in respect of PPL 302 & PPL 3007 was derived from the huge sum of money transferred by the Lagos State Government to the contractors for the execution of contracts for the benefit of the state.

The investigator alleged that there were never any contractual or business relationships between Oceangate and the contractors who transferred the aforementioned public funds to the account of the company.

He said the contractors, who transferred the aforementioned public funds to Oceangate, were neither investors, directors, nor shareholders in Oceangate.

But Oceangate, in its affidavit to show cause sworn by one of the company’s directors, Iliya Wakil, said it came to his knowledge that the court made an order of interim forfeiture of the company’s $13 million used to pay for the signature bonuses of Deep Offshore PPL 302 and Shallow Water PPL 3007 between 20 March 2025 and 3 April 2025.

The company official prayed the court not to make the order of final forfeiture of the funds because all the funds were derived partly from legitimate earnings of the company and partly gifts given to the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Aisha Achimugu.

He maintained that the company did not conspire with any unregistered BDC operators and bank officials to retain and transfer the sum or any sum of money whatsoever which had anything to do with unlawful activity.

He argued that Suleiman Chiroma referred to by the EFCC in its application for interim forfeiture is a licensed BDC agent engaged lawfully by the company to help it source the US dollars needed by the company to settle the signature bonuses of PPL 302 and PPL 3007 oil blocks respectively as same was required to be paid in dollars by the Nigerian government.

He stated that Chiroma acted fully independently and without any form of control by Oceangate Limited.

The director said the company did not know Dantani Hassan or the company known as Ashrab Energy and Oil Services Limited.

Besides, he said Oceangate did not know one Tirmizi Usman and Tripple A & Tee Oil Nigeria Limited, adding that the company had never met, dealt with or transacted with any of the persons mentioned in paragraphs 15 and 16 of the EFCC’s affidavit in any manner and for any reason whatsoever.

He said Oceangate only relied fully and depended on the avowed expertise of
Mr Chiroma, a licensed BDC agent and believed that he followed the due process to source all the funds remitted to the company for the purpose of settling the signature bonuses as stated.

He said the entire naira swapped for the dollars came from legitimate sources, attaching the audited accounts of the company as exhibits.

Oceangate, in its motion on notice filed with the affidavit to show cause, sought an order setting aside the order of interim forfeiture of the $13 million which it claimed belong to it.

The company argued that the order was made by the court without requisite jurisdiction and against the principle of fair hearing.

But EFCC, in its reply to the affidavit to show cause filed by Oceangate, prayed the court to dismiss the application.

Aliyu, who also swore the affidavit on behalf of the commission, said the commission found that Iliya Wakil, who swore Oceangate’s affidavit to show cause, was a mere nominal director with no shareholding status of the company.

Besides, the investigator said Wakil was an employee of Felak Concept Group Limited, also owned by Achimugu, and incorporated on May 5, 2000.

He said Wakil admitted, in his extrajudicial statement to his team on 15 April 2025 that he had worked with Felak Concept from 2000 to date.

He said Wakil also admitted that he held so many positions, “among which are Manager Admin, General Manager Admin and Finance and presently Group General Manager Admin and Finance.’

He said Wakil also stated that he had consistently drawn his monthly salary from his known employer Felak Concept and WishWhich Koncept Limited.

He argued that there was no record of Wakil drawing a salary from Oceangate.

Besides, the officer said Wakil admitted in his extra-judicial statement that he got all his instructions from Achimugu, the GCEO, and he, in turn, gave the same instructions to Chiroma via telephone conversation.

Aliyu described Oceangate as “a briefcase/shell company created as a vehicle for the purpose of holding petroleum related assets procured with funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.”

“Hence, describing the company as ‘a professional oil and gas consortium, operating in diverse sectors of the oil and gas sectors of the Nigerian economy,’ is nothing but describing the devil as an angel of light,” Aliyu wrote.

He alleged that the modus operandi of Oceangate is to acquire “petroleum-related assets with tainted funds.”

The officer said the $13 million forfeited in the interim by the court to the federal government was not proceeds of any lawful, legitimate, provable, known and justifiable income of the company.

Aliyu also stated that Oceangate equally procured an auditor, Godwin Ukah, to prepare an audit report which was attached to its affidavit to show cause as exhibit.

He said Ukah was invited to the EFCC’s office after which he volunteered his extra-judicial statement and admitted that he did not see the various account statements of Oceangate when he prepared the audit report.

Besides, he said Ukah admitted that Oceangate had not actively earned from oil and gas exploration.

He said Ukah, who prepared the audit report attached as exhibit relied solely on a memorandum of understanding and not the financial books of Oceangate.

Aliyu said his team also invited Aisha Achimugu, the GCEO of Oceangate and she volunteered her extra-judicial statement.

According to him, Achimugu admitted in her extra-judicial statement that she has the most significant control of Oceangate Oil and Gas Limited.

He said the businesswoman equally admitted that “Oceangate Oil & Gas Limited does not do contract for now nor has it carried out any contract either in private or public sector”.

The investigator told the court that it would be in the interest of justice to forfeit the $13 million to the Federal Government, same having been reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.

The judge had, on 15 September 2025, ordered the final forfeiture of $7 million lodged in Providus Bank branch in Ikoyi, Lagos State, and recovered by the EFCC after nobody came forward to claim it.

A company, Felak Concept Group Limited, later issued a statement to dismiss reports linking its GCEO, Achimugu, and its subsidiary, Oceangate Engineering Oil and Gas Ltd, to the controversial $7 million cash transaction allegedly tied to Providus Bank.

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Crime

Driver arrested over death of US-based Nigerian graduate, Oluwalayomi Fadero

Published

6 hours ago

March 25, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department in the United States has arrested a driver linked to a fatal hit-and-run incident that claimed the life of a Nigerian graduate, Oluwalayomi Fadero.

According to a report by a local US media outlet, WSMV4, obtained on Tuesday, the incident occurred on Friday after the suspect, Ray Eugene Padgett, allegedly stole a vehicle and fled.

The report stated that the owner of the truck tracked it to a location, and upon realising he was being followed, the suspect reversed and rammed into a vehicle behind him.

The police subsequently deployed a helicopter to monitor the situation. However, as the suspect attempted to escape, he reportedly rammed into an unmarked police vehicle, triggering a high-speed chase.

“The intention at that point is to keep an eye on the truck until it finally stops, have ground units move in, and take the man into custody,” the MNPD Public Information Officer, Don Aaron, was quoted as saying.

The pursuit, which lasted about five minutes, reached speeds of up to 80 miles per hour along Murfreesboro Pike toward the county line.

It ended around 2:30 p.m. when the suspect drove into oncoming traffic near the intersection of Murfreesboro Pike and Hickory Woods Drive.

Police said he crashed into a white sedan driven by Fadero, pushing the vehicle approximately 100 yards into a ditch. The 23-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

The suspect was subsequently arrested and taken to hospital. He has been charged with criminal homicide.

Authorities said Padgett was on parole at the time of the incident.

“We believe that he was on parole when he stole the truck and set off the chain of events that claimed the life of an innocent Nashville woman who was returning home,” the police said.

Meanwhile, alumni and members of Fisk University, where Fadero graduated, have mourned her death.

“It’s heartbreaking to know she was near her home and close to where she lived,” a Fisk alumna, Jessica Williams, was quoted as saying.

Fadero’s former professor, Janet Walsh, described her as kind and compassionate, noting her commitment to volunteer work.

“These small acts of kindness and consideration truly make the world a better place. I’m honoured to have known her and witnessed her sense of global citizenship,” Walsh said.

A makeshift memorial has since been set up at the crash site along Murfreesboro Pike.

In addition, a GoFundMe account created to support her family with burial expenses had raised over $15,000 as of the time of filing this report.

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Crime

Two Nigerians jailed 16 years in Ireland over €6m fraud

Published

6 hours ago

March 25, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

Two Nigerian nationals based in Ireland, Francis Ogbuefi, 42, and Steven Silvester, 32, have been sentenced to a combined jail term of over 16 years for their roles in what was described as a “highly sophisticated, global money laundering scheme”.

According to Raidió Teilifís Éireann on Friday, the duo were arrested and prosecuted following a lengthy investigation by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau of Ireland.

Ogbuefi, of Clonard Road, Crumlin, Dublin, was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment, while Silvester, of The Paddocks, Morristown, Newbridge, Co. Kildare, received a seven-and-a-half-year sentence.

The pair had allegedly travelled from Nigeria to Ireland to engage in organised fraud.

The total value of the scams linked to the case was put at €6.17m, according to the report.

Both men were said to have denied the charges but were found guilty by a jury after a trial last month.

Court proceedings, according to the RTE, revealed that more than €6m was stolen and laundered through various schemes, including romance fraud and smishing, with funds moved across multiple bank accounts.

The reports disclosed that investigators found that the two men coordinated the provision and monitoring of accounts used to receive illicit funds.

Evidence was said to have shown that they received requests from across the world—many linked to Nigerian phone numbers—seeking accounts for fraudulent transactions.

The report added that data recovered from Ogbuefi’s phone detailed job specifications, transaction volumes, and account requirements.

He was said to have also been found to have instructed that accounts be opened under Irish names to avoid suspicion.

The report quoted prosecutors as saying Ogbuefi acted as a key contact for collaborators outside Ireland.

A nine-minute instructional video on how to carry out the fraud was also discovered on his device, alongside images showing him overseeing transactions and directing the group’s activities.

He reportedly took a 20 per cent cut of the proceeds and claimed to have extensive experience in the scheme.

Further evidence indicated that Ogbuefi entered Ireland as a student, while Silvester had initially lived in direct provision before becoming transient.

The presiding judge, Martin Nolan, reportedly described the operation as complex, noting that money laundering networks rely heavily on access to bank accounts.

The judge said both men demonstrated a strong understanding of banking systems, regularly testing their vulnerabilities.

While the crimes were difficult to detect, the report noted that the judge commended investigators for pursuing leads and presenting compelling evidence.

The judge also noted that the convicts had no prior criminal records and were regarded positively by their families, describing them as intelligent and capable of reform.

The case adds to a growing number of fraud-related convictions involving Nigerians abroad.

This year alone, over 100 Nigerians have been arrested in Ghana over alleged fraud and other offences.

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