Families of five engineers of NELAN Construction Limited who went missing in 2021 staged a peaceful protest in Abuja on Monday, demanding that the Federal Government reveal the whereabouts of their loved ones and intensify efforts to bring those responsible to justice.
The protest, held at the Federal Ministry of Works headquarters in Mabushi, Abuja, brought together the wives of the missing engineers, relatives, friends and colleagues who called on the government and security agencies to reopen and conclude investigations into the mysterious disappearance of the professionals.
The demonstrators carried placards and chanted solidarity songs while urging authorities to account for the engineers who disappeared while on official duty in Ebonyi State.
The families said the five engineers were abducted in November 2021 at Effium community in Ebonyi State while supervising the Abakaliki Ring Road project funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The missing engineers were identified as Engr. Nelson Onyemeh, the lead consultant and Chief Executive Officer of the firm from Ihiala in Anambra State, Engr. Ernest Edeani from Nkanu in Enugu State, Engr. Ikechukwu Ejiofor from Umunya, Awka in Anambra State, Engr. Samuel Aneke from Nkanu in Enugu State, and Engr. Stanley Nwazulum from Amawbia in Anambra State.
According to the families, the engineers were working as consultants supervising the ring road project when they were reportedly abducted by armed men.
Speaking during the protest, Esther Aneke, the wife of one of the missing engineers, Samuel Aneke, lamented that nearly five years after the incident, there has been no clear information regarding the fate of the engineers despite investigations reportedly launched by security agencies.
She accused authorities of failing to carry out a thorough investigation into the disappearance of the victims, whom they described as law-abiding professionals and breadwinners for their families.
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, for 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.
“Please, I am asking for justice. Please, they should release my husband wherever he is.”
Her emotional appeal underscored the prolonged uncertainty faced by families who say they have received little or no information about the investigation into the abduction since it occurred.
Also speaking during the protest was 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.”
According to the protesters, repeated attempts by families to obtain updates from relevant authorities have not produced satisfactory answers.
Civil society organisations present at the protest also called for greater transparency in the handling of the case, urging authorities to ensure that investigations are pursued diligently.
In a petition submitted to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the leadership of the National Assembly through their lawyers, CN Attorneys, the families demanded an immediate full-scale investigation by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force to determine the whereabouts of the missing engineers.
The petition alleged that the engineers were abducted amid disagreements over the consultancy terms of the AfDB-funded Abakaliki Ring Road project.
The families also raised concerns over alleged irregularities during the investigation, including claims that skeletal remains earlier presented to them as those of the missing engineers did not match after independent DNA tests were conducted.
According to them, the DNA analysis showed that the remains did not belong to the engineers and that one of the skeletons was that of a female, further deepening their suspicion over the handling of the case.
They also called on the government to investigate the alleged dismissal of a Department of State Services operative who was said to be handling the investigation at a critical stage.
The families insisted that the government must ensure justice for the victims and provide clarity on the fate of the engineers who left their homes for work but never returned.
They warned that if urgent action is not taken, they may resort to more demonstrations across the country to draw attention to the plight of the affected families.
The protesters urged President Tinubu and relevant authorities to intervene urgently to uncover the truth behind the disappearance and bring the perpetrators and masterminds of the alleged abduction to justice.
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.
He explained that the incident occurred within the jurisdiction of Ebonyi State and therefore falls primarily under the authority of the state government rather than the Federal Ministry of Works.
Muhammad urged the protesters to avoid actions that could interfere with ongoing legal proceedings.
“I think this has to be addressed in Ebonyi, not in this office. This is a federal government office, and this matter is in court. When the matter is in court, nobody has the right to do anything.
“So last time when they came, we said, who are their leaders? They said they don’t have leaders. Is there any way you can do a protest without a leader?
“So we advised them that if they are doing anything, they ought to have a police report because that is a state issue and you can’t take it as a federal issue.”