BREAKING: Wife of Missing Five NELAN Engineers Accuses Umahi, DSS, Police of Cover-Up Over 2021 Disappearance

One of the wives of the five NELAN engineers who disappeared after leaving their homes for a meeting with Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, during his tenure as Governor of Ebonyi State has accused the minister, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Nigeria Police Force of covering up the circumstances surrounding the engineers’ disappearance.

Speaking with SaharaReporters, the woman called on Nigerians to demand accountability from the authorities, insisting that the families of the missing engineers deserve to know what happened to their loved ones.

She also stated that there had been no genuine effort to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of the engineers, whose whereabouts have remained unknown.

According to her, the police and the DSS should explain why, in her view, the investigation into the disappearance has not yielded any result.

She further noted that Umahi and Chioma Nweze, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (South East), should be compelled to explain what happened to the missing engineers.

In an emotional interview with SaharaReporters, she said: “David Umahi, the DSS and the police should tell the families of the five NELAN engineers what happened to them. They are all involved in the cover-up.”

Recounting her last interaction with the former Ebonyi State governor, she alleged that Umahi had threatened legal action against her after she continued demanding answers over the disappearance of the engineers.

“In 2021, Umahi threatened that he would go after me with his lawyers. He said he would never help in the search for the engineers. That was the last conversation I had with Umahi before he blocked me,” she said.

The woman further made additional allegations, calling on authorities to question Umahi and Chioma Nweze over the fate of the missing engineers.

She said: “Umahi and Chioma Nweze should be made to tell the world what they happened to the bodies of the engineers. David Umahi considers himself above the law.

“He equally said he would go after me with his lawyers. I am still waiting for him to do that.”

The whereabouts of the five NELAN engineers remain unknown, and their families have continued to seek answers over the circumstances surrounding their disappearance.

SaharaReporters previously reported that the families of five consultants with NELAN Consulting Limited who disappeared in Ebonyi State in November 2021 had petitioned the Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC), the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), alleging a conspiracy involving the Ebonyi State High Court, the police and powerful individuals to conceal the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of their loved ones.

Families Petition NJC, Attorney General, NBA

The petition, titled “Save Our Souls On The Missing Of Our Heads Of Families Since 2021 And The Involvement Of The High Court Of Ebonyi State Presided By Hon. Justice J. Igboji In The Saga,” was submitted through their lead counsel, human rights lawyer Mr. Femi Falana (SAN).

The petitioners are the wives and relatives of the five missing engineers: Engr. Nelson Onyemeh, Lead Consultant and Chief Executive Officer of NELAN Consulting Limited, from Ihiala, Anambra State; Engr. Ernest Edeani, from Nkanu, Enugu State; Engr. Ikechukwu Ejiofor, from Umunya, Anambra State; Engr. Samuel Aneke, from Nkanu, Enugu State; and Engr. Stanley Nwazulum, from Amawbia, Anambra State.

The families appealed to the three institutions to intervene and ensure justice over what they described as the mysterious disappearance of the engineers after they travelled to Abakaliki for an official meeting organised by the administration of former Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi.

Engineers Vanished After Ebonyi Government Meeting

According to the petition, the five engineers were consultants appointed by NELAN Consulting Limited to supervise the African Development Bank (AfDB)-funded Ring Road Project in Ebonyi State.

The families stated that the consultants travelled to Abakaliki in 2021 for a meeting convened by the Ebonyi State Government but allegedly disappeared after arriving in the state.

The petition read, “With heavy hearts and unceasing tears in our eyes, we, the wives and entire families of the missing five consultants of the NELAN Consulting Ltd who were appointed to supervise the African Development Bank (AfDB)-funded Ring Road project in Ebonyi, as consultants, but went missing when they left for Ebonyi State for a meeting organised by the then David Umahi-led Ebonyi State government, hereby appeal to you for intervention to unravel the disappearance of our husbands and fathers in Abakaliki since 2021 in Ebonyi State for justice.”

Families Allege Former Governor Issued Threats

The families stated that before the disappearance, the former governor was hostile towards NELAN Consulting Limited because the firm allegedly refused pressure to compromise its professional responsibilities while supervising the project.

According to them, the lead consultant, Engr. Nelson Onyemeh, received repeated threats after refusing to compromise the integrity of the consultancy assignment.

“For the record, we are aware that the said former governor was hostile to the consulting firm and severally made various deadly threats to the lead consultant, Engr. Nelson Onyemeh, following their refusal to compromise their professional services in the course of the job awarded to their consulting firm to supervise,” the petition said.

They claimed that after attending the government meeting in Abakaliki, the engineers disappeared without a trace and have not been seen since.