Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) has threatened suspension of services if the Federal Government does not halt the killing of its members.While speaking on increasing killing of its members, in Abuja, yesterday, the President of NSE, Tasiu Gidari-Wudil, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to carry out a special investigation on the abduction and killing of one of its members, Donatus Udeh, in Enugu, and to reopen the disappearance case of five engineers of NELAN Engineering Consulting Limited, which occurred in Ebonyi State in 2021.
The late Udeh was, until his death, the Vice Chairman of Enugu branch of NSE. He was reportedly abducted on April 22, 2023, in Enugu, and security authorities were reportedly alerted immediately.
NSE President said: “I, hereby, declare that if no action is done or seen to be done as here demanded, I would, by the powers vested in me as President and Chairman-in-Council of NSE, and by the support of all Nigerian engineers, initiate an industrial action to protest the insensitivity of government to the plight of Nigerian engineers and their families.”
“Maybe, we are being taken for-granted, because engineers have never gone on strike before. What we have seen in recent times is that engineers are becoming targets. Who will build roads, dams, power and infrastructure? We are writing a letter to the President to act.”
He revealed that, over the years, the national secretariat of NSE has been inundated with reports of abduction and killing of its members from different parts of the country, especially in the South East.
Udeh was found dead three days after he was abducted, while his vehicle was found at a different location within 9th Mile Corner, Ngwo, Enugu, on April 25.
Similarly, the five engineers from NELAN were reportedly abducted on their way to inspect a project site in Ebonyi State on November 3, 2021.
The victims, Nelson Onyemeh, Earnest Edeani, Ikechukwu Ejiofor, Samuel Aneke and Stanley Nwazulum, were on a supervisory visit to the $150 million Abakaliki Ring Road project, funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), when the misfortune befell them.
NSE regretted that until this moment, nothing has come out of that case. The Police have not unravelled the seeming mystery behind the disappearance of the hardworking professionals, and there is only a presumption of their deaths in the hearts of family members and the public.
