- Safiu Kehinde
Mrs Ifeoma Ejiofor, wife of one of the five NELAN engineers who went missing in Ebonyi State, has called for the intervention of the President Bola Tinubu and other well-meaning Nigerians in finding her husband.
Ejiofor made the call while during a protest by the families of the five engineers who went missing since November 2021.
NPO Reported that the recent debt scandal involving the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, and a businesswoman, Traceynither Ohiri, had revived the case of the NELAN engineers as Ohiri disclosed how Umahi had threatened to deal with her the way the engineers were dealt with if she comes to Ebonyi.
The engineers went missing under Umahi’s tenure as Ebonyi state governor with reports suggesting that prior to the incident, the minister had withdrawn a project awarded to the construction company and warned them against coming to the state.
Recounting their ordeal over past five years, Ejiofor, who identified her husband as Ikechukwu Ejiofor, said the engineer had left home for Abakaliki, Ebonyi state’s capital, on the 3rd of November, alongside his four other colleagues.
Weeks after going missing, Ejiofor disclosed that she alongside wives of the other engineers were invited by the then governor of the state, Umahi, who promised them that the case of the missing engineers will be looked into.
“On the 3rd of November 2021, my husband went to work in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, and up to today, we have not seen him or heard from him.
“Within some weeks after the incident, we were called by the Ebonyi state government to come- the wives of the engineers.
“We went there and the then governor of the state, Dave Umahi, promised us that he will look into the matter.” She said.
The wife of the missing engineer claimed they were never called back by the minister since their last meeting with him till the end of his tenure as governor.
“From November 3rd 2021 till today 16th March 2026, we have not heard anything from them again.” Ejiofor said.
Meanwhile, she disclosed been invited following social media posts suggesting that their husbands have been murdered.
On arrival at the state, the wives of the missing engineers were shown some corpses which they claimed not to be the bodies of their husbands.
“There was a time we heard over the social media that they have been killed and buried. Nobody contacted us, nobody told us anything.
“At the time, we were called to come and carry five corpses. When we got there, we discovered that they are not members of our family because a female was found among the corpses. That didn’t tell that they are our family members.
“Again, a test was done in US and they were tested negative. Up till today, nothing tangible has been said or done concerning this matter.” She said.
Ejiofor called for Tinubu’s intervention as she demanded the return of her husband alive.
“We are calling on every Nigeria that can help us in this matter. We are calling on the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as a father that he is, to intervene in this matter. Let them dig deep and unravel what happened.
“I want to see my husband back alive because he went there alive
“We are calling on the president to intervene in this matter.” She added.