Wives of five engineers working with NELAN Construction Limited, who were abducted by gunmen in November 2021 while handling the Abakaliki Ring Road project in Ebonyi State, on Monday staged a protest at the Federal Ministry of Works in Abuja.
The protesters demanded information about the whereabouts of their husbands almost four years after the abduction.
The demonstration, which received support from several civil society groups, highlighted what the families described as the prolonged silence and lack of accountability from authorities concerning the fate of the missing engineers.
The engineers — Nelson Onyemeh, Ernest Edeani, Ikechukwu Ejiofor, Samuel Aneke, and Stanley Nwazulum — were reportedly kidnapped in November 2021 while supervising construction activities on the Abakaliki Ring Road project.
The road project, aimed at reducing traffic congestion and improving connectivity within the state capital, was funded by the African Development Bank as part of wider infrastructure investments intended to stimulate economic development in the region.
At the time of the incident, Ebonyi State was under the leadership of former governor Dave Umahi, who now serves as Nigeria’s Minister of Works under the administration of Bola Tinubu.
The abduction occurred during a period of rising insecurity in parts of South-East Nigeria, where attacks on public infrastructure, construction workers and government facilities have become more frequent in recent years.
Several contractors and workers involved in road construction and other public projects across the region have reported threats, kidnappings and disruptions to their work.
For the families of the abducted engineers, however, the issue has evolved beyond broader security concerns and has become a deeply personal ordeal marked by uncertainty and emotional distress.
During the protest in Abuja, some wives and relatives of the missing engineers displayed placards urging the Federal Government and relevant authorities to intervene and ensure justice for the victims.
Speaking during the protest, Esther Aneke, wife of one of the missing engineers, Samuel Aneke, appealed to the government to help locate her husband or clarify 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 appeal reflected the prolonged uncertainty faced by families who say they have received little or no update about the investigation since the abduction.
Also speaking at the protest was the mother of another missing engineer, Stanley Nwazulum, who described the painful 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.”
The protesters stated that several attempts by the families to obtain updates from authorities had not produced satisfactory answers.
Civil society organisations present at the demonstration also called for greater transparency in the handling of the case and urged 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 case is currently before a court.
He explained that the incident occurred within Ebonyi State, and therefore falls mainly under the jurisdiction of the state government rather than the federal ministry.
Muhammad advised the protesters to avoid actions that could interfere with ongoing court 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 ministry’s response, the families maintained that the Federal Government should intervene since the project involved international financing and public infrastructure development.
The abduction happened during a period when security challenges, particularly kidnapping and attacks on public infrastructure, were increasing across several parts of Nigeria.
Security reports indicate that 2021 recorded one of the highest levels of kidnapping in the country, with thousands of people abducted nationwide amid growing criminal activities and limited 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 that period.
