The deaths in Minna bring to 13 the number of casualties in
Immigration recruitment stampedes across the country.
Two applicants slumped and died at the recruitment venue in Minna on Saturday
where over 12,000 applicants from the state converged for recruitment into the
Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports.
The state commissioner for health, Ibrahim Sule, confirmed the death of the
two applicants in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
“One female applicant was reported dead on arrival at the hospital and the
male applicant died of his injuries on admission at Minna General Hospital,” he
said.
He said four other male applicants were treated for their injuries and
discharged, while seven females were currently receiving treatment at the
hospital.
He said the Immigration Service did not liaise with the government on the
recruitment exercise given the large number of applicants expected.
Officials of the Immigration Service declined to comment on the death.
NAN reports that the Government Girls Day Secondary School, Minna, venue of
the exercise was packed full with the applicants who besieged the place as
early as 7a.m.
Immigration officers had a hard time managing the crowd who formed long
queues armed with their notification slips.
An applicant who gave his name as Mohammed told NAN that unruly behaviour of
some of the applicants led to the stampede which caused the deaths.
“The pushing and shoving at the venue entrance by some unruly applicants led
to the stampede resulting in injuries to some applicants, who were rushed to
the hospital,” he said.
The Immigration recruitment held across Nigeria on Saturday with several
reports of deaths and stampede from different states. Advertised positions were
for university graduates, diploma holders and Senior Secondary School
Certificate holders.
In Abuja, recruitment, at least seven job seekers died at the Abuja National
Stadium while scrambling to secure seats for the recruitment test. Four deaths
were reported in Port Harcourt.
Meanwhile, 10,000 applicants took part in the exercise in Sokoto
State, according to Yunusa Aliyu, the Comptroller of the Nigeria Immigration
Service (NIS), Sokoto Command.
“We have made adequate arrangements to ensure sanity during the screening
and the writing of the one-hour examination later today,” he said. ““So far so
good we have not recorded any stampede or any security problems.”
“It will be conducted successfully as we have started by the special grace
of God,” Mr. Aliyu, added.
NAN observed that adequate measures had been put in place at the college as
the prospective candidates were seen in long queues but in an orderly manner.
Some of the candidates who spoke to NAN commended both the state immigration
command and the college for making adequate arrangements to ensure a hitch-free
exercise.
Mohammed Ibrahim, an applicant with a BSC Hons. Economics holder from the
Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto said there was no stampede.
He said the exercise was successful. (NAN)
