The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) Thursday condemned the numerous abduction and wanton killing of its members across the country.
Addressing the press in Abuja, President, Chairman-in-Council of NSE, Engr. Tasiu Sa’ad Gidari-Wudil, stated that over the years, the National Secretariat of has been inundated with reports of abduction and vicious killings of “our members from different parts of the country, especially in the South-East region.
The most recent of such cases is the report of the killing of Engr.
Donatus Ofobuikem Udeh, MNSE.”
“He was reported to have been abducted on Saturday, April 22, 2023 in Enugu, and the security authorities were immediately alerted. Three days later, his mutilated, lifeless body and vehicle were found at different locations within 9th Mile Corner, Ngwo, Enugu on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. The late Engr. Udeh was, until his demise, the Vice Chairman of the Enugu Branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers.”
According to him, previously, in a similar brutal manner, five Engineers from
NELAN Engineering Consulting Limited were reportedly abducted on their way to inspect a project site in Ebonyi State on November 3, 2021. The victims – Engr. Nelson Onyemeh, Engr. Earnest Edeani, Engr. Ikechukwu Ejiofor, Engr. Samuel Aneke
and Engr. Stanley Nwazulum – were reported to be on a supervisory visit to the one hundred and fifty million dollars ($150 million) Abakaliki Ring Road project, funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), when the misfortune befell them. Until this moment, there is no closure to that case; the Police has not unraveled the seeming mystery behind the disappearance of the hardworking professionals, and there is
only a presumption of their deaths in the hearts of their family
members and the public. Such harrowing trauma!
“Presently, the life of one of our Executive Committee members is
under threat just because she is supervising a project in Ebonyi.
There are other similar cases too many to mention.
In a country where pursuit of legitimate livelihood is supposedly
guaranteed under the laws, it is a shame to continually witness
these cruel killings without any respite from the government,
whereas the primary purpose of government is the security and
welfare of the people, as provided in section 14(b) of the 1999
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
“The slain Engineers in the examples above
were exactly on such patriotic nation-building and economy-
stimulating course when they were cut down. It is an irony that
such breed of humans would be targeted for such brutality
without a convincing counter action by the government to bring
the perpetrators to book.”
He therefore appealed President Muhammadu Buhari to wade into the matter by directing the Inspector General of Police to
carry out special investigation on the abduction and killing of engineers.
