Nearly five years after five engineers working for NELAN Consulting Limited disappeared while on official duty in Ebonyi State, Nigeria remains confronted by one troubling reality: there are still more questions than answers.
This is no longer merely a story about five missing professionals. It has become a test of the country’s justice system, investigative institutions, and commitment to accountability, regardless of who occupies public office.
The five engineers, Engr. Nelson Onyemeh, Engr. Ernest Edeani, Engr. Ikechukwu Ejiofor, Engr. Samuel Aneke and Engr. Stanley Nwazulum left Enugu for Ebonyi State on November 3, 2021, to carry out supervisory duties on the Abakaliki Ring Road project. They never returned.
That much is undisputed.
The project itself was funded through the African Development Bank (AfDB), with NELAN Consulting Limited reportedly appointed through an international competitive bidding process as the independent consulting firm responsible for supervising construction and ensuring compliance with AfDB standards.
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According to the families of the missing engineers, tensions had developed between NELAN and the Ebonyi State Government, then led by Governor Dave Umahi, over project supervision, certification of completed works and payment approvals.
The families allege that NELAN resisted attempts to approve work outside the procedures required by the AfDB, insisting on maintaining professional independence.
These allegations have never been proven in court, and neither Senator Dave Umahi nor officials connected to the project have admitted to any wrongdoing.
Following the disappearance, the Ebonyi State Government maintained that the engineers were abducted by criminals linked to the Effium/Ezza-Effium communal crisis, and stated that security agencies were mobilised to investigate the incident.
Subsequently, Umahi publicly stated that security reports indicated the engineers had been killed and buried in the bush by alleged perpetrators connected to the communal violence. However, the families questioned the timing of that announcement, noting that police and Department of State Services (DSS) investigations were still ongoing.
Since then, the case has generated persistent controversy.
Several suspects were arrested and charged before the Ebonyi State High Court in Charge No. HKW/7C/2022. Yet the central question posed repeatedly by the families remains unanswered:
Where are the bodies?
The families have consistently argued that skeletal remains presented during the investigation could not be linked to the engineers after independent DNA tests they commissioned reportedly returned negative results. According to their lawyers, one of the remains was reportedly identified as belonging to a female, further deepening their doubts about the official narrative.
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The families have also made several other serious allegations. They claim investigations were compromised, that key investigators were removed during the process, that individuals connected to the project communicated with persons suspected of involvement in the disappearance, and that there were attempts to conceal the truth.
These allegations have been publicly denied where responses have been given, remain disputed, and have not been established by any court of law.
For nearly five years, the wives of the missing engineers have refused to allow the matter to fade into public memory. They have petitioned President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly, the National Human Rights Commission, security agencies, and several state governments.
They have staged protests, including one at the Federal Ministry of Works in Abuja, and have continued to demand an independent federal investigation into the disappearance of their husbands.
Their campaign is driven by a simple proposition: if suspects confessed, where are the bodies? If investigators concluded murder occurred, why has closure remained elusive?
Those questions deserve answers.
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The judicial process itself has also attracted scrutiny. Court proceedings have experienced repeated delays, while reports that some defendants benefited from an Ebonyi State Government amnesty programme have raised additional public concerns.
The families, through their legal representatives, have obtained certified court records and petitioned the National Judicial Council and the Nigerian Bar Association, seeking an independent review of aspects of the proceedings.
Again, these actions reflect the families’ position and do not amount to judicial findings.
Whatever one believes about the competing narratives, one fact stands above every allegation and every denial: five Nigerians disappeared while carrying out their professional responsibilities, and nearly five years later, their families still have neither definitive answers nor the remains of their loved ones.
This case should concern every Nigerian not because of politics or personalities, but because justice delayed inevitably erodes public confidence in the institutions responsible for delivering it.
If the official account is correct, a transparent and conclusive investigation should establish that beyond reasonable doubt. If there are gaps in the investigation, they should be addressed through an independent review capable of commanding public confidence.
Justice is not only about securing convictions where evidence warrants; it is equally about establishing the truth through a process that is credible, transparent and free from any perception of interference.
Until that happens, the story of the NELAN Five will remain unfinished, not because Nigerians refuse to accept the outcome, but because many believe the outcome has yet to be fully established.
Five years later, the nation still owes five families what every democracy should guarantee its citizens: the truth.
Charles Sunday Ogbu
