Wives of Five Missing Engineers Appeal to Tinubu, National Assembly
The wives of five engineers abducted in Ebonyi State, Nigeria over four years ago have formally petitioned President Bola Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, requesting urgent intervention in the case.
The engineers: Nelson Onyemeh, Ernest Edeani, Ikechukwu Ejiofor, Samuel Aneke and Stanley Nwazulum were reportedly kidnapped in November 2021 by armed assailants while supervising the Abakaliki Ring Road project, a road financed by the African Development Bank. They have not been seen since.
According to the petition, prepared by the law firm CNO Attorneys and dated March 10, the wives: Patricia Onyemeh, Lovett Edeani, Ifeoma Ejiofor, Esther Aneke, and Nwazulum demanded that the federal government direct the State Security Service and Nigeria Police Force to provide information on the missing engineers and intensify efforts to locate them.
The families also called for a thorough investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the abduction, highlighting the emotional strain caused by years of uncertainty.
The petition noted that the investigation had been hampered after the officer handling the case, Victor Onyesom, was reportedly removed without formal notice and had his work laptop containing investigative materials confiscated.
The petitioners alleged that tensions arose between the lead consultant, Nelson Onyemeh and the administration of former Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi over the consultancy terms, with the state government reportedly attempting to alter the contract and give another firm a leading role.
This disagreement, they claimed, may have triggered hostility that led to the engineers’ abduction.
The families questioned a public statement made by the former governor during a state executive council meeting, in which he claimed the engineers had been killed and buried in a forest, even though the police and SSS were still investigating.
In their petition, the wives urged the president and National Assembly leadership to ensure that those responsible are held accountable and warned that continued inaction may force them to organise protests. The petition emphasized that the missing engineers were fathers and primary breadwinners, whose prolonged absence has caused severe distress in their households.
Copies of the petition were also sent to Governor Charles Soludo, Governor Peter Mbah, all National Assembly members from Enugu State, and the National Human Rights Commission.
