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Families of missing Ebonyi engineers petition NJC, NBA over criminal proceedings
via Punch Nigeria13 min read
The families of five NELAN Consulting Limited consultants, who disappeared during an official assignment in Ebonyi State, are calling for an independent review of the criminal proceedings related to the case. This appeal follows their receipt of a Certified True Copy of records from the Ebonyi State High Court, which they claim raises questions about the prosecution of suspects. The consultants, Nelson Onyemeh, Ernest Edeani, Ikechukwu Ejiofor, Samuel Aneke, and Stanley Nwazulu, went missing in November 2021 while working on an African Development Bank-funded Ring Road project. The families urged the National Judicial Council, the Nigerian Bar Association, the Judicial Service Commission, the National Assembly, the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, civil society organisations, and the human rights community to scrutinise the proceedings. Their action comes after the current Minister of Works, Mr David Umahi, stated that the consultants were killed during a communal clash and those responsible were on trial. However, the court records show that six defendants were arraigned for alleged kidnapping, and three were granted bail after being informed they received amnesty from the Ebonyi State Government, despite the engineers' whereabouts remaining unknown. The families' lead counsel, Femi Falana SAN, obtained the court records after difficulties, revealing that the case had stalled, with defendants and counsel failing to appear in court on multiple occasions.
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by Punch Nigeria.
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