The families of five engineers who have been missing since 2021 yesterday staged a protest in Abuja, asking President Bola Tinubu to order a fresh investigation into the circumstances surrounding their disappearance.

Nelson Onyemeh, Ernest Edeani, Ikechukwu Ejiofor, Samuel Aneke, and Stanley Nwazulum were consultants with NELAN Construction Limited and were reportedly working on the Abakaliki Ring Road project funded by the African Development Bank when they went missing in Ebonyi State.

Their wives, family members and colleagues stormed the headquarters of the Ministry of Works with placards and their photographs, accused security services of a cover-up.

In a petition to Tinubu, Senate President, and House of Representatives Speaker, the protesters demanded an independent probe into the matter. According to the petitioners, the engineers disappeared amid disagreements over the project, when the Ministry of Works Minister Dave Umahi was the governor of Ebonyi State. They accused the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) of failing to provide clear answers despite years of investigation.