By Kingston Magare 16.3.2026
The wives of five engineers whose husbands were kidnapped while working at road project in Ebonyi State since November 2021, Monday protested at the Federal Ministry of Works in Abuja.
The women, their relatives and sympathisers accused the accused the government and its agencies of lack of concern and accountability as their husbands remain missing after four years their kidnap by gunmen while working on the Abakaliki Ring Road project, founded by the African Development Bank and endorsed by the Federal government.
At the time of the incident current Nigeria Minister of Works Dave Umahi was the governor of Ebonyi State. The missing engineers are Nelson Onyemeh, Ernest Edeani, Ikechukwu Ejiofor, Samuel Aneke and Stanley Nwazulum who were working for NELAN Construction Limited.
The women took their turns to speak to the media.
“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, for Ebonyi. At the time I was two months and two weeks pregnant. Since then, I have not seen him, and I have not even seen his corpse.
“Please, I am asking for justice. Wherever my husband is, they should release him,” she said.
Another wife narrated how the family had suffered following the kidnap of her husband Stanley Nwazulum: “My son is the youngest among the engineers. He was just 33 years old, and he used to take care of my hospital bills.
“Since 2021, I have not seen him, and I do not know where he is. I need justice for my son. I want the government to tell me where my son is.”
However in a statement senior special assistant on media to the Minister of Works Francis Nwaze, said the protest followed renewed concerns by families of the late engineers, while acknowledging the grief associated with their deaths.
“The death of the NELAN engineers remains a painful tragedy. No family deserves such grief, and the Honourable Minister understands the weight of that loss,” the statement said.
“The unfortunate disappearance of the engineers occurred at the height of the violent Effium vs. Ezza Effium communal conflict, a crisis that consumed lives and properties and threw the area into severe insecurity
“Immediately the information about the incident reached the then Governor of Ebonyi State, Senator David Umahi, he swiftly mobilized security agencies and launched intensive search and investigative efforts to determine the whereabouts of the engineers and bring the perpetrators to justice,” the statement said.
“These efforts led to the arrest of individuals involved in the dastardly act. Those arrested confessed to committing the crime, and they have remained in custody since then. The matter is still before the court,” the statement noted.