Lawyers Demand Fresh Probe Into 2021 Abduction Of 5 Engineers

Lawyers representing the families of five engineers who went missing in Ebonyi State in November 2021 have petitioned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the leadership of the National Assembly, demanding a fresh and comprehensive investigation into the mysterious disappearance.

The legal firm, CNO Attorneys, acting on behalf of the wives and families of the missing engineers, said the prolonged delay in uncovering the whereabouts of the victims has raised serious concerns about the commitment of security agencies to the case.

In a petition presented while protesting in Abuja on Monday, signed by Carl Umegboro, head, Civil Rights and addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, the lawyers described the incident as a grave injustice and called for urgent action to bring the perpetrators to justice.

“It is our clients’ brief that sometime in November 2021, the aforementioned engineers were abducted by armed men in the Effium community of Ebonyi State, amid intense clashes between the lead consultant, Engr. 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.”

The petition was written on behalf of Mrs Patricia Onyemeh, Mrs Lovett Edeani, Mrs Ifeoma Ejiofor, Mrs Esther Aneke and Mrs Nwazulum, wives of the missing engineers who were consultants on the Abakaliki Ring Road project funded by the African Development Bank in Ebonyi State.

According to the lawyers, the engineers were abducted in November 2021 in Effium community while carrying out official duties as consultants supervising the road project.

Those declared missing include Engr Nelson Onyemeh, the lead consultant and Chief Executive Officer of Nelan Construction Limited from Ihiala in Anambra State; Engr Ernest Edeani from Nkanu in Enugu State; Engr Ikechukwu Ejiofor from Umunya in Awka, Anambra State; Engr Samuel Aneke from Nkanu in Enugu State; and Engr Stanley Nwazulum from Amawbia in Awka, Anambra State.

The petition also stated that skeletal remains later exhumed by security agencies and presented to the families as those of the missing engineers were rejected after independent DNA tests reportedly showed they did not belong to the victims.

According to the lawyers, the DNA results revealed that one of the remains belonged to a female, raising further doubts about the authenticity of the findings presented by investigators.

The lawyers argued that the continued failure to resolve the case violates constitutional provisions that place the protection of lives and property as a primary responsibility of government.

They also cited provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights relating to the right to life, human dignity and personal liberty.

The petition called on the federal government to order a full-scale investigation involving the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Police Force and other relevant agencies to determine the whereabouts of the engineers and prosecute those responsible.

It also urged authorities to review the alleged dismissal of the DSS officer who handled the investigation and ensure his safety.

The lawyers warned that the families and their supporters may resort to public demonstrations if the matter is not urgently addressed, stressing that the victims were breadwinners whose disappearance has left their families in prolonged anguish.