British aid worker Faye Mooney shot dead 'in crossfire' by kidnappers in Nigeria

A British aid worker died after being caught up in a gun battle between police and "bandits" trying to raid a resort in Nigeria, an inquest has heard.

Faye Mooney, 29, was killed along with her boyfriend, Nigerian national Matthew Oguche, during the attack on Kajuru Castle, a resort in northern Nigeria's troubled Kaduna state.

The couple were "caught in gunfire" when a gang of around ten men said to be armed with AK-47s entered the grounds of the resort at around 10.30pm, Manchester Coroner's Court heard.

A gunfight broke out with two armed policemen, who were acting as security for the resort and Ms Mooney, from South Manchester, and her boyfriend left their room.

Ms Mooney, who worked for US-based aid agency, Mercy Corps, died from gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen, following the attack on 19 April 2019.

The hearing was told the raid was not terror-related but motivated by "kidnap and ransom", which had been a problem in that part of Nigeria.

Det Chief Inspector Ben Cottam, of Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said he was part of a mutual legal assistance procedure with Nigeria and received updates about what had happened.

He said: "I think it is fair to say in the information I have, the death of Faye was a result of criminal and unlawful acts both in the criminal law in Nigeria and UK law."

The inquest heard Ms Mooney had an extensive career in international aid, having worked previously in Kurdistan and the Balkans.

After schooling in Manchester, Ms Mooney was a graduate of University College London and the London School of Economics and was working as Mercy Corps' communication specialist in Nigeria having been at the organisation since 2017.

Her career included teaching in Iraq and working in Kosovo to combat human trafficking.

Dyah Audu, giving evidence via video link, said he was the security manager for Mercy Corps in Kaduna state at the time.

Mr Audu said the day before she was killed was Maundy Thursday, and he and Ms Mooney wished each other, "Happy Easter" as the office closed for the holiday weekend.

The following day, Good Friday, at around 11pm, he got a phone call telling him a "white lady" had been killed at Kajuru Castle.

Later he went to identify Ms Mooney's body and spoke to local police, who told him about the attack.

He suggested the gunmen, who he described as "bandits", were on their way elsewhere but took the opportunity to attack the resort until they faced resistance from armed police on scene.

Mr Audu said: "They shot into the air to scare them. These guys got angry and shot sporadically. They all left. That's why I said it was an opportunist attack, I don't believe it was planned."

He said there was "no way" he would have approved any trip to the "no-go" area of Kajuru, but as this was not a work-related trip, his advice would not have been compulsory and staff had freedom to travel in non-work hours.

Faye's father Paul Mooney paid tribute to his daughter as "fun-loving, hard-working, brave and intelligent" who was a "committed internationalist" and very well travelled, her death having deeply touched friends across the world.

Fighting back tears, he added: "She loved life and loved people. Being in her company was a joy and we miss her."

Coroner Zak Golombeck is scheduled to give his conclusions on Thursday morning.

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