Wives of five engineers employed by NELAN Construction Limited, who were abducted by armed men in November 2021 while working on the Abakaliki Ring Road project in Ebonyi State, on Monday staged a protest at the Federal Ministry of Works in Abuja.
They demanded answers about the whereabouts of their husbands nearly four years after the incident.
The protest, supported by several civil society organisations, drew attention to what the families described as prolonged silence and lack of accountability from authorities over the fate of the engineers.
The missing engineers — Nelson Onyemeh, Ernest Edeani, Ikechukwu Ejiofor, Samuel Aneke, and Stanley Nwazulum — were reportedly kidnapped in November 2021 while supervising construction work on the Abakaliki Ring Road project.
The road project, designed to ease traffic congestion and improve connectivity within the state capital, was financed by the African Development Bank as part of broader infrastructure investments aimed at boosting economic activity in the region.
At the time of the incident, Ebonyi State was under the administration of former governor Dave Umahi, who currently serves as Nigeria’s Minister of Works under the government of President Bola Tinubu.
The abduction occurred amid growing security concerns in parts of Nigeria’s South-East region, where attacks on public infrastructure, construction workers, and government facilities have become increasingly common in recent years.
Several contractors and workers engaged in road and public works projects across the region have reported threats, kidnappings, and disruptions to construction activities.
For the families of the missing engineers, however, the issue has gone beyond broader security challenges and has become a deeply personal tragedy marked by uncertainty and emotional distress.
During the protest in Abuja, some of the wives and relatives of the missing engineers carried placards calling on the Federal Government and relevant authorities to intervene and ensure justice for the victims.
Speaking during the protest, Esther Aneke, the wife of one of the missing engineers, Samuel 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, to 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.
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 the 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.”
Despite the explanation from the ministry, the protesting families insisted that the Federal Government must intervene given that the project involved international financing and public infrastructure development.
The abduction of the engineers occurred during a period when security challenges, particularly kidnapping and attacks on public infrastructure, were increasing across several parts of Nigeria.
Security data indicate that 2021 recorded one of the highest levels of kidnapping nationwide, with thousands of people abducted across the country amid rising criminal activity and weak security coverage in many regions.
According to the Nigeria Security Tracker, at least 2,944 people were kidnapped across Nigeria between January and June 2021 alone, highlighting the scale of the crisis during the period.
