Wives of five engineers employed by NELAN Construction Limited, who were abducted by armed men in November 2021 while working on the Abakaliki Ring Road project in Ebonyi State, Human Rights Activists and concerned Nigerians on Monday stormed the Federal Ministry of Works Headquarters in Abuja to protest and demand justice for the missing Engineers.
The protesters (wives) who demanded to know the whereabouts of their husbands who suddenly got missing nearly four years while performing their supervisory jobs.
The missing Engineers: Nelson Onyemeh, Ernest Edeani, Ikechukwu Ejiofor, Samuel Aneke, and Stanley Nwazulum were said to have been kidnapped in November 2021 while supervising construction work on the Abakaliki Ring Road project.
The road project being financed by the African Development Bank came during the administration of former Governor, Dave Umahi, the current Minister of Works.
The protesters while lamenting that five years after their mysterious disappearance, there has been no clear investigation or closure on the matter called for the release of the victims’ bodies.
The protesters who submitted their protest letter to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry before proceeding to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) , carried placards and dressed in black T-shirts, the demonstrators shutting down the main gate of the Ministry of Works.
According to them, the families of the victims deserve justice and urged relevant authorities to ensure a thorough investigation into the incident.
The abduction occurred amid growing security concerns in parts of Nigeria’s South-East region, where attacks on public infrastructure, construction workers, and government facilities have become increasingly common in recent years.
Speaking during the protest, Esther Aneke, the wife of one of the missing engineers, Samuel Aneke, appealed to the government to help locate her husband or provide clarity about his fate.
“My name is Mrs Esther Aneke. I am the wife of engineer Samuel Chibike Aneke, who went to work. He left me in Adamawa on October 30, 2021, to Ebonyi. He left me two months and two weeks pregnant. I’ve been like that up to now. I have not seen him; I didn’t see his corpse.
In her emotional ladden speech, the mother of another missing engineer, Stanley Nwazulum, who described the devastating impact of her son’s disappearance on the family.
“My son is the youngest among the engineers. He was just 33. He used to be responsible for my hospital bills. Since 2021, I have not seen him; I do not know where he is. Please, I need justice for my son. I need the government to tell me where my son is.”
Responding on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Works, the Director of Human Resources, Ahmad Muhammad, said the matter remains before a court of law, adding that the incident occurred within the jurisdiction of Ebonyi State.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, has stated that the engineers from NELAN Consulting Engineers who went missing during the Effium crisis in Ebonyi State were victims of the wider communal violence between Effium and Ezza-Effium communities and were not specifically targeted.
Umahi, in a statement issued by his media aide, Francis Nwaze, explained that the disappearance of the engineers occurred at the height of the violent communal conflict between Effium and Ezza-Effium, which led to the destruction of lives and property and plunged the area into severe insecurity.
According to the minister, the engineers were among many victims of the crisis that engulfed the area at the time.
He made it clear that several individuals suspected to be involved in the incident who were arrested, confessed to the crime, revealing further that they have remained in custody while the case continues in court.
The Minister, however, expressed sympathy with the families of the deceased, describing their deaths as a painful tragedy.
“No family deserves such grief. As Governor of Ebonyi State at the time, Senator Umahi shared in that pain and treated the matter with the seriousness it deserved,” the statement noted.
