Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), yesterday, threatened to down tools before the expiration of President Muhammadu Buhari administration if the government does not arrest the wanton killings of engineers.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja, the President, Chairman-in-Council of NSE, Engineer Tasiu Sa’ad Gidari-Wudil, said that over the years, the society has been inundated with reports of abduction and vicious killings of engineers 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 Engineer Donatus Ofobuikem Udeh. 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 Engineer Udeh was, until his demise, the vice chairman of the Enugu Branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers” he regretted, adding that earlier, five engineers from NELAN Engineering Consulting Limited had been reportedly abducted on their way to inspect a project site in Ebonyi State on November 3, 2022.

“The victims; Engineer Nelson Onyemeh, Engineer Earnest Edeani, Engineer Ikechukwu Ejiofor, Engineer Samuel Aneke and Engineer 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 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 their family members and the public” NSE cried out.

Consequently, NSE president threatened that if no action was done in the case of the killing of Engineer Donatus Ofobuikem, the society would have no other option than to declare an industrial action.

“In going forward, therefore, I hereby make an appealing call on the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to wade into the matter. We ask that he specifically directs the Inspector General of Police to carry out special investigation on the abduction and killing of Engineer Donatus Ofobuikem Udeh in Enugu, and to also re-open the case of the five engineers of NELAN Engineering Consulting Limited which happened in Ebonyi State in 2021.

“Furthermore, I hereby declare that if no action is done or seen to be done as here demanded, I shall, by the powers vested on me as President and Chairman-in-Council of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, and by the common will of all Nigerian engineers, initiate an industrial action to protest the insensitivity of government to the plight of Nigerian engineers and their families,” he said. (Daily Sun)

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