Protesters Storm Works Ministry, Demand Answers From Umahi Over Five Missing NELAN Engineers
Angry family members, friends and human rights activists on Monday besieged the office of the Minister of Works, David Umahi, located at the Mabushi in Abuja, demanding justice for five engineers allegedly killed in Ebonyi State in 2021.
The protesters called for the release of the victims’ bodies, lamenting that five years after their mysterious disappearance, there has been no clear investigation or closure on the matter.
Displaying placards and dressed in black T-shirts, the demonstrators shut down the main gate of the Ministry of Works, insisting that the minister must provide answers regarding the circumstances surrounding the killing of the five engineers.
The protesters maintained that the families of the victims deserve justice and urged relevant authorities to ensure a thorough investigation into the incident.
The protesters submitted their protest letter to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry who attended to them before proceeding to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
Last Tuesday, families of engineers working with Nelan Consultants who mysteriously disappeared after travelling to Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, to meet the then-governor, Umahi, had announced plans to stage a protest in Abuja, demanding a thorough investigation into the incident and calling on the Minister of Works to step aside to answer questions surrounding the disappearance.
The engineers, who worked for Nelan Consultants and were supervising the African Development Bank–sponsored Abakaliki Ring Road project in Ebonyi State, were allegedly killed after they mysteriously disappeared in November 2021 under circumstances that remain unresolved nearly five years later.
The victims were identified as Nelson Onyemeh, Engr. Stanley Nwazulum, Engr. Samuel Aneke, Engr. Ernest Edeani, and Engr. Ikechukwu Ejiofor.
Family members told SaharaReporters that the engineers vanished shortly after travelling to Abakaliki on November 3, 2021, following a meeting request allegedly linked to issues surrounding the supervision of the Abakaliki Ring Road project.
The road project was funded by the African Development Bank and supervised by Nelan Consultants, a firm where the lead engineer, Nelson Onyemeh, was a partner.
According to relatives, the engineers had travelled to Ebonyi State after being invited for a meeting regarding matters connected to the project they were supervising.
However, shortly after arriving in the state capital, they allegedly disappeared under circumstances that have since caused suspicion and concern among their families and associates.
According to the families, the engineers had serious disputes with then-Governor Umahi over the African Development Bank–funded Abakaliki Ring Road project.
They claimed that Umahi asked Nelan Consultants to take a “back seat” so he could directly control the project. The company refused, citing that the request violated contract terms and could risk being blacklisted by the African Development Bank.
The engineers also alleged that the governor wanted Nelan Consultants to approve certificates of satisfactory completion for work overseen by other engineers.
They maintained that they would never sign such certificates for projects they had not supervised, which reportedly prompted plans for a meeting with the governor, just before they all mysteriously went missing.
According to the families, repeated efforts to obtain answers about the fate of the engineers yielded little progress.
Hafsoh Isiaq is a graduate of Linguistics. An avid writer committed to creative, high-quality research and news reportage. She has considerable experience in writing and reporting across a variety of platforms including print and online.
