BY BENEDICT NWACHUKWU, ABUJA
The Association of Ebonyi State Indigenes in the Diaspora (AESID) has called for a full scale investigation to unravel the cause of the abduction and killing of five consultant engineers working on a project by the African Development Bank (AfDB) by yet to be identified individuals.
The five engineers working with an Enugu-based consultant engineering firm, were reported missing on November 3, after they were deployed to a road project at Effium in Ebonyi State in continuation of routine supervisory works.
The victims were identified as Nelson Onyemeh, Stanley Nwazulum, Ernest Edeani, IK Ejiofor and Samuel Aneke.
Expressing worry in a statement in Abuja, AESID President, Ambassador Paschal Oluchukwu, called on security agencies in Nigeria to thoroughly investigate and unravel those who have a hand in the unfortunate incident.
The statement reads, “We join the families and indeed, other civil society groups like Intersociety which have all spoken up on this dastardly act to not only condemn the sad incident but call on Governor Umahi to clear his name on the matter especially as he has been specifically mentioned to have been threatening the contractors.
“It is our principal belief that matters such as this, so long as it concerns our dear state and its people cannot be swept under the carpet through unofficial but surreptitious Executive antics.
“We therefore implore the various security agencies in Nigeria to thoroughly investigate Umahi and those in his government who may have been suspected to have a hand in this unfortunate incident.”
Raising concerns over the mysterious and suspicious deaths associated with the road project, the diaspora group said, “the mysterious deaths pervading this important road project, especially coming few months after yet-another suspicious death of Engineer Fidelis Nweze, a Commissioner, who was before his death, was the Chairman of the Ebonyi State Project Implementation Unit for the AfDB- financed Ring Road Project.
“Already, these sad and ugly incidents have put the Umahi government in a very bad spot, and to an extent, affected the overall public perception of our people as aggressive, savagery, beastial and anti-developmental progress.”
In addition, the group also demanded that “governor Umahi and his government was yet to launch some deeply serious probe into the mysterious disappearance and killing of the said contractors. This is very important because media reports, including a detailed report on a popular Nigerian Television news Channel, ARISE, all points accusing fingers to alleged threats from Governor Umahi on the lead consultant, Onyemeh.
“Specifically, those close to the murdered Civil Engineer who spoke to the Television’s Reporter, insisted that the relationship between Governor Umahi and NELAN had remained very frosty to a point that some of the vehicles assigned to them for the execution of the project were allegedly withdrawn, leaving them with only one Toyota Hilux for their routine operations.
“Despite the ongoing war between Effium Indigenes of Korri extraction and the Ezzas, there had never been reports of hostility and violence by the host community towards the construction and consultancy firms handling the said Ring Road project. It is therefore bewildering for Umahi to bring the crises narrative into the incident when the facts speak or suggest otherwise.
“And why has it been difficult for the various investigative security agencies in over six weeks to unravel the killers and at least exhume the bodies for full-scale auto?” the group asked.
