IMMIGRATION RECRUITMENT BECOMES A DEAD BODY ENLISTMENT AS STAMPEDE LEFT NO FEWER THAN 24 PEOPLE DEAD INCLUDING THOSE 4 PREGNANT WOMEN WERE RECORDED IN BOTH ABUJA AND EDO STATE 12 killed in Abuja, 5 in PH, 3 in Minna, 5 in Benin, many injured • Applicants tear-gassed in Minna, gun shots in Benin • Only 7 lives lost – Abba Moro Nigerias Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Moro yesterday blamed applicants for the deaths that occurred at different venues of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) recruitment test. Moro said, The applicants lost their lives due to impatience; they did not follow the laid down procedures spelt out to them before the exercise. Many of them jumped through the fences of affected centres and did not conduct themselves in an orderly manner to make the exercise a smooth one. This caused stampede and made the environment unsecured. NIS sources told dailynews that more than 500,000 young Nigerians took part in the exercise, in which over 100,000 applied in Abuja alone, while Lagos had 64,000 applicants. Oyo had 18,000, Rivers 25,000, Edo 28,000, and Minna 11,000, among others. for the Job of just 4000 ABUJA In Abuja, 12 applicants, including a pregnant woman, seeking recruitment into the NIS, died at the National Stadium, in a stampede, which caused injuries to at least 50 other job seekers. The Abuja stadium was a scene of total chaos and frustration, when more than 100, 000 applicants, who had arrived the 60,000 capacity Stadium in Abuja for their aptitude tests and physical drills. PORT HARCOURT In Port Harcourt, about 25,000 applicants, who were invited for the interview, had gathered at the 16,000- capacity stadium, but ill fate befell them, while struggling to enter the venue. Although some of the applicants began arriving the stadium at about 7.am, they were not allowed into the main bowl by security operatives, as the two gates into the stadium were locked. Pandemonium broke out at about 10am, when the Immigration authorities opened the second gate to begin the screening of applicants, who had been waiting for hours for the programme to begin. Some of the agitated applicants, who were worried that they might not be allowed entry into the main bowl of the stadium, where the screening exercise was scheduled, began to push forward in a desperate bid to gain entrance, causing those in front, who were still being screened by Immigration officers to fall down and be trampled. Some of the applicants that were in critical conditions were rushed to the hospital for intensive treatment. An army ambulance vehicle with registration number NA 307 EOI and two police operational Toyota Hilux vehicles were also used in conveying unconscious applicants to hospitals. Two persons were confirmed dead at the Port Harcourt stadium, while the other three applicants were said to have died at the hospital. At press time, sources told Sunday Newswatch that a couple of the applicants were still in critical condition at the hospital. Sad stories told at the scenes were many and varied. According to one of the applicants, “far fewer people would have died today if the officers had not shot into the air. The shots scared those that were pushing us from the back. The crowd here today was too much for this stadium’s capacity. There was no way the security men on ground could have managed the crowd. I don’t think inviting all of us here was a wise decision.” Sad stories told at the scenes were many and varied. According to one of the applicants, “far fewer people would have died today if the officers had not shot into the air. The shots scared those that were pushing us from the back. The crowd here today was too much for this stadium’s capacity. There was no way the security men on ground could have managed the crowd. I don’t think inviting all of us here was a wise decision.” However, the spokesman for the Command, Mr. Bisong Abang, denied that five persons died from the stampede that ensued at the Liberation Stadium. He insisted that all those who sustained injuries were attended to by the medics present at the stadium, while others were taken to the hospital for further treatment. Abang explained that the immigration service expected about 20,000 genuine applicants, but that those who turned up for the exercise were far more than the security men could cope with. He said about 40,000 applicants turned up, and overwhelmed the security operatives detailed to coordinate the screening exercise. Apart from Abuja and Port Harcourt, where even pregnant women and nursing mothers presented themselves for the aptitude tests and pre-qualification drills, the exercise was equally organised at several centres in the 36 states of the federation. However, Ibadan the Oyo State capital, no fewer than 18,000 applicants wrote the test, which took place at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium (formerly Liberty Stadium) in two categories of university graduate and non-university graduate applicants. The test in Ibadan was a written one, and involved no physical exercise, while there was an unconfirmed report that an applicant fainted and was resuscitated before the commencement of the assessment. In Kano, at least seven job seekers sustained varying degrees of injuries during the aptitude test. At the close of the day, two females and five male applicants recorded injuries at the Indoor Sports Hall venue of the exam. The stampede occurred when thousands of the applicants were struggling to gain entrance through the main gate of the Indoor Sports Hall, which resulted in a sudden surge that led to many being injuried, an eyewitness at the venue told our correspondent. However, unconfirmed reports disclosed that three of the job seekers were feared dead. But the Public Relations Officer of the Command in Kano, Mohammed Kanoma, insisted that no life was lost during the stampede at the Indoor Sports Hall. He confirmed, however, that two female and five male applicants sustained various injuries during the stampede, and were promptly treated and allowed to sit for the examination. In Minna the Niger State capital /three people were feared dead with several others injured at the Women Day Secondary School venue, which was filled as early as 7am with about 11,000 candidates turning up for the examination. The line formed by the candidates was about two kilometres long from the venue of the examination, which was adjacent to the Federal Secretariat. When the Immigration Service personnel felt the situation was turning into a stampede, they reportedly resorted to the use of tear gas, which caused seven people to collapse, while others were trampled upon in the process. The seven affected candidates, who collapsed were rushed to the Minna General Hospital, where three of them gave up the ghost. A source at the Minna General Hospital confirmed the death of the three people, saying that their bodies had been deposited at the mortuary. However, when contacted, the Controller of Immigration Service in the Niger State Command, Ezekiel S. Kaura, said 11, 000 candidates were at the venue to write the examination and that only five collapsed as a result of the stampede stressing that no other person was injured . In Benin, the Edo State capital, three pregnant women and a nursing mother were among those that lost their lives in the immigration exercise. The rowdy event, in which more than 20 job seekers sustained serious injuries due to the large numbers of young people who participated, caused major traffic congestion in parts of the Benin metropolis, as it was held at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in the heart of the city. Applicants had turned up for the exercise as early as 6am, causing major gridlocks in parts of Oba Palace, Ring Road, Siluko, Ekenwan, Mission, Ugbowo and Stadium roads, but the screening did not start until 2:15pm. According to official reports, 28, 000 persons turned up for the exercise in Benin City alone. The stampede, which led to the deaths and injuries, was caused by sporadic shooting by soldiers at the venue. According to Sunday Newswatch findings, trouble started about 10am, when the Immigration officers meant to control the crowd lost it, prompting the soldiers on guard to start the sporadic shooting. When the shooting began, the over 28,000-strenght crowd started running for safety. As the time of filing this report, more than 20 persons were being revived at different clinics and nearby hospitals, while the three pregnant women and a nursing mother had died before help came their way. A young man, who identified himself as Isaac, said, “Oga, they should help us ask the immigration officials, why the shooting. To organise the applicants is easy. Now, the shooting has caused big problem. Four women died, three were pregnant, one was a nursing mother, and over 20 persons have been hospitalised.” The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the NIS, Mr. Adebola Adetula, declined to speak on the incident. When contacted, Adetula said he couldnt comment on the matter, as he was not on ground, and that he was actually driving at that time. He said he was not aware of the situation, and that he was waiting for updates from operatives, who were on ground at the various centres before commenting. He, however, said he would be favourably disposed to speaking on the incident by Monday (tomorrow), volunteering to call back, after having been fully briefed. Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, however, said only seven applicants lost their lives in three out of the 37 centres, where the tests were conducted. Moro, who disclosed this to journalists while inspecting the exercise in Jos, Plateau State, said information reaching him indicated that seven people lost their lives at the National Stadium, Abuja, Niger and Lagos states, adding that two of the victims were female and five, male. “The applicants lost their lives due to impatience; they did not follow the procedures spelt out to them before the exercise, and many of them jumped through the fences of affected centres, and did not conduct themselves in an orderly manner to make the exercise a smooth one. This caused a stampede, and made the environment unsecured.” He stressed that though about 520, 000 people applied for the exercise across the country, the centres were spread to avoid overcrowding, adding that only 4,556 will be recruited at the end of the exercise based on available space. He disclosed that the Deputy Controller of Immigration Operation and Passport had told him that he had cancelled the exercise in Lagos due to the unruly behavior of applicants, and told them to wait for further directives. At the National Stadium, Surulere — venue of the Lagos recruitment exercise — an applicant told SaharaReporters that prospective job-seekers present on Saturday far outnumbered the 45,000 capacity of the stadium. “I can tell you that more than 100,000 people came for this test”, he said. “I have never seen this kind of crowd before in my life. Even if this was a FIFA World Cup football match, you will never get spectators this many”. The crowd at the various recruitment centers all over Nigeria is actually not a strange development, considering Nigeria’s unimpressive unemployment statistics.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 02:17:21 +0000
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