Wives of abducted engineers working on AfDB project in Ebonyi petition Tinubu, NASS

Wives of five engineers of NELAN Construction Ltd, who were abducted by armed men in November 2021 while working on the Abakaliki Ring Road project in Ebonyi State, funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), have written to President Bola Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker Abbas Tajudeen to compel the Department of State Services (DSS) and Nigeria Police to produce the abducted workers.

The women, in a petition dated 10th March, 2026, written by their solicitors, CNO Attorneys, and submitted to the President, Senate President and Speaker Tajudeen, called for a thorough investigation into the matter and prosecution of those responsible.

Copies of the petition were also sent to Governor Charles Soludo of Anambra State, Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, and all National Assembly members from Enugu State, as well as the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission.

“We are Solicitors to Mrs Patricia Onyemeh, Mrs Lovett Edeani, Mrs Ifeoma Ejiofor, Mrs Esther Aneke; and Mrs Nwazulum, hereinafter referred to as “Our Clients” (the wives of the missing engineers, representing the entire families of the five (5) construction engineers of NELAN Construction Ltd), on whose firm instructions and behest we write to protest over the disproportionate and suspicious delay by the security apparatus, particularly the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of Security Services (DSS), to produce the whereabouts of law-abiding citizens and professionals who travelled for a “legitimate assignment” as the consultants for the supervision of the ring road project in Ebonyi State, financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), and amid intensive hostility and deadly threats by the then David Umahi-led administration, who were uncomfortable with the approval of NELAN Engineers as consultants, due to special interest in another consulting firm, were abducted and missing since November 2021.

“Our Clients lament helplessly that till date, nothing meaningful has been heard about the whereabouts of the victims who are husbands, fathers and breadwinners in their respective families; instead, innumerable intrigues and conspiracies, including a sudden unlawful dismissal of the investigation officer of the Department of Security Services (DSS), one Mr. Victor Chijioke Onyesom without a letter of dismissal, alongside confiscation of his laptop by the security service at the peak of the investigation.

“The perpetrators of these heinous crimes against humanity have not been brought to justice, which is an affront to Section 14 (2) (b) of the Constitution, Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, which makes security of the people a priority and primary purpose of government.

“The identities of the said five (5) NELAN engineers are as follows: Engr Nelson Onyemeh, lead consultant/CEO from Ihiala in Ihiala LGA, 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, Awka, Anambra State.”

According to the petitioners, the five Engineers were abducted by armed men in the Effium community of Ebonyi State amid intense clashes between the lead consultant, Engineer Nelson Onyemeh, and the then-Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, regarding contract terms with the state government.

“We were informed that the AfDB-funded project was structurally designed to eliminate the government from financial interference or interest, but the state government attempted to change the terms, an attempt which couldn’t fly due to technicalities in the terms, and following the unsuccessful attempt, the governor, David Umahi offered the lead consultant an option to play a supporting role (a subordinate or nominal role) for their “anointed firm” to take the active role of the project, which the NELAN Consultants vehemently declined, and this refusal birthed all manner of disaffection, estrangement and hostility.

“Our clients further informed us that the Nigeria Police and Department of the Security Service (DSS) swung into action for the investigation of the ugly incident after complaints were lodged, and while the investigation was going on, the governor, David Umahi, announced in his state executive meeting, which was reported in the news, that the ‘Five 5 Nelan engineers have been killed and buried inside the bush by Ezza Warriors’ even when the police and DSS were carrying on methodical investigations on the abduction and were yet to track their whereabouts.

“Our clients added that it was through the said announcement that the families and the Police received the news and questioned how the governor in the State House knew the news before the Police investigated the matter.

“Subsequently, as the preliminary investigations gathered momentum and were escalated at the Police and DSS circles and were nearing conclusion for the next line of action towards apprehending the culprits, the investigation officer of the Department of Security Services, one Mr Victor Chijioke Onyesom was suddenly booted out of office without a formal dismissal, and his laptop, which was used for the investigation and contained all his vital investigation reports confiscated from him. This development suggests mischief and conspiracy against the investigation”.

The petition signed by Carl Umegboro, therefore, requested the petitioned leaders “To use your good offices to bring the perpetrators to book without further delay. They should not be allowed to escape justice or be shielded from prosecution, no matter how highly placed they may be.

“We believe that this option is far preferable to one of compelling the traumatised families, by the government’s inaction, who have already lost confidence in the security apparatus, to take to the streets in protests over their loved ones missing since November 2021, without any meaningful action from the government. Your Excellencies, you need to ponder the psychological trauma, endless lies to the kids about the whereabouts of their dads, etc. The effects are endless.

“We are therefore constrained to remind the government of its statutory duty to protect lives and property and fervently advise it to come to the aid of these depressed, dejected and deprived families before it is too late, considering the trauma and predicament they have been subjected to in the past five years without their loved ones and without an atom of hope, thereby making their lives miserable and meaningless.

“We have a clear mandate of our clients to demand a full-scale investigation by the federal government and its agencies, to wit, the Department of Security Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Police Force, and others, to unravel the whereabouts of the five missing engineers; otherwise, these families will be forced to embark on endless serious demonstrations, as the government needs not to be reminded that their mental health has been grossly punctured, wounded, devastated, shattered and battered, let alone the missing five breadwinners whose whereabouts remain unknown, and conceivably, their lives may have arbitrarily been cut short against their constitutional right to life.”