The abducted wives in Ebonyi seek help from Tinubu, Akpabio and Abbas

The wives of five engineers of NELAN Construction Ltd, who were abducted by gunmen in November 2021, have implored President Bola Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and President Tajudeen Abbas to mobilize the Department of State Services (DSS) and the police to facilitate the release of their husbands.

The engineers were said to have been working on the African Development Bank (AfDB)-funded Abakaliki Ring Road project in Ebonyi State before they were abducted after alleged disagreements with the state government.

In a petition dated March 10, 2026, submitted to the President, the Senate President and the President, the women questioned the way the investigation was handled by the police and the DSS, calling for a thorough investigation into the matter and prosecuting those responsible for the “kidnapping” of their breadwinners.

“We are lawyers for Ms. Patricia Onyemeh, Ms. Lovett Edeani, Ms. Ifeoma Ejiofor, Ms. Esther Aneke and Ms. Nwazulum, hereinafter referred to as “Our Clients” (the wives of the missing engineers, representing the entire families of the five (5) construction engineers of NELAN Construction Ltd),” ​​their lawyers said.

The lawyers said that in November 2021, the engineers were kidnapped in Effium community in Ebonyi State, amid intense clashes between the lead consultant, Engr. Nelson Onyemeh ​​​​and the then governor of the state, David Umahi, regarding the contractual terms with the government.

“We were informed that the AfDB-funded project was structurally designed to rid the government of interference or financial interests, but the state government attempted to change the terms, an attempt which could not work due to technicalities,” they said.

They said Umahi “surprisingly” announced the killing and burial of the five engineers by their captors, even when investigations were yet to begin, appealing to the Federal Government to bring those responsible without delay.