Two nannies arrested in Accra for allegedly drugging twin toddlers

Accra, Oct. 20, GNA. The Airport Divisional Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) has arrested two nannies for allegedly administering sleep-inducing substances to twin toddlers in their care.

The suspects, Francisca Boakye, 30, a student nurse from Konongo in the Ashanti Region, and Harriet Ansah, 31, from Jasikan in the Oti Region, were apprehended following a complaint by the mother of the children, a 40-year-old businesswoman, in September 2025.

The mother reported noticing unusual drowsiness and behavioural changes in her two-year-old twins over a prolonged period. Investigations revealed that the nannies allegedly mixed an unidentified sleep-inducing substance into the children’s milk without her consent.

Superintendent Juliana Obeng, Head of the Public Affairs Unit, said the nannies claimed the substance helped put the children to sleep so they could attend to household chores. Ansah reportedly admitted to the act and claimed she learned the practice from Boakye. She further confessed to physically abusing the children, including striking their heads and calling them derogatory names such as “chimpanzee.”

A search of the suspects’ quarters yielded two used sachets and four unused sachets believed to contain the substance, now forwarded for forensic analysis.

Both suspects have been charged and are in police custody, expected to reappear in court on October 20, 2025. The Greater Accra Regional Police Command condemned the alleged actions as “deplorable and unacceptable” and urged parents to remain vigilant when entrusting children to domestic staff.