Board disown Minister Moro over death of applicant

Interior Minister Abba Moro should carry the can for the death of 19 applicants at the Immigration Service recruitment centres last Saturday.

At the venue

This is the verdict of the Board of Immigration Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence, Prisons and Fire Service.

The minister sidelined the Board in the tragic recruitment, it was learnt yesterday.

Speaking before the Hon. Solomon Olamilekan- Adeola-headed House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts yesterday, a Commissioner on the Board, Mr. S D Tapgun, absolved the Board of any wrong-doing in the botched exercise.

Tapgun, who led the board members and heads of the agencies under the board to a session before the committee, said the Board did not approve the recruitment.

His words: “Only the Interior Minister and the consultant he engaged for the exercise can tell Nigerians exactly what happened. Even the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service was not involved. He was not part of the recruitment at all. There was no board resolution to recruit anybody.

“When we, the members of the board, learnt about the recruitment, we wrote the Minister that we are not in support of engaging the services of a third party to conduct recruitment for the Immigration Service, but he ignored our letter and went ahead to engage the consultant named Rexel Technical Global Nigeria limited. The Consultant fixed everything, including a N1,000 fees, which they claimed was administrative charges.”

Tapgun said to prove the innocence of the board in the affair before Nigerians, members were ready to confront the Minister at any time.

According to the Commissioner, records at the board’s disposal show that 693,000 applicants who paid N1,000 each to designated banks by the consultant, were registered for the recruitment.

The Chairman of the Committee, Solomon Adeola said both the Interior Minister and the consultant should appear before the committee to explain where they derived the power for recruitment without approval from the Board.

They are also to reveal the total amount raked in from the applicants and the whereabout of the cash.

“This is fraud. Nigerians, our children have been defrauded to the tune of a billion naira. The Minister and the consultant must tell Nigerians how much was collected, the banks where the money is being kept and the account numbers, among others.”

The lawmaker said the committee had earlier summoned the Board before the tragic event after learning that applicants were being charged N1,000 each by the Nigeria Immigration Service for the recruitment.

The purpose at the time, Adeola said, was to enable the board account for the money so far collected. (0)

Board disown Minister Moro over death of applicant

Immigration exercise: Abba Moro blames doctors, nurses, bankers, teachers, others for stampede and death

Interior Minister, Abba Moro has blamed last Saturday’s stampede at the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) recruitment centres across the nation on doctors, nurses, bankers, teachers and others in paid employment.

Abba Moro, Minister of Interior

According to him, these already employed individuals thronged the various recruitment centres in their numbers.

No fewer than 19 applicants, including four expectant women, died in the stampede. Many others were injured.

Moro said though these categories of persons never applied for jobs with the NIS, they gate-crashed into the venues of the recruitment, with the hope of getting foreign postings and being pensionable if employed by the NIS.

Moro’s aide, Mallam Salisu Dantata Muhammed, who spoke on behalf of his boss in Abuja yesterday, said contrary to reports, the ministry put in place logistics to contain crowds at the centres.

He also blamed the social media for the stampede, saying that many of the applicants were inviting friends and relatives who did not apply for the job to the centres through Facebook, text messages and other portals.

Muhammed said: “It’s odd that many of those who turned up included employed bankers, engineers, medical doctors, nurses, teachers and others who wanted to cross over to the Immigration Services at all costs.

“The Minister and officials of his ministry considered last Saturday’s incident as very regrettable, more so as the unexpected huge crowd shattered the near perfect arrangements they had put in place against anticipated huge crowd.

“The Interior Ministry made adequate provisions for the expected mammoth crowd at the National Stadium meant to conveniently sit 75,000 people.

More than 45 percent of those who eventually turned up were not supposed to be at the centres.

“About 520,000 applied for the recruitment exercise across the federation. For instance, we had in our record that applicants totalling 68,000 were to be at the Abuja Stadium. But at the end, nearly 70 percent of non-applicants forced their way into the stadium.

“Apart from the committees that planned the exercise ahead, we had security personnel drawn from the Immigration, Civil Defence, Prisons, Fire Services and others to complement the Police. We made adequate preparations.

“But they overpowered the security personnel. Many of them got impatient and very desperate to get attention, and in the process, they began to climb and jump across impossible places in order to gain access to the stadium. That was the beginning of the stampede.

“The crowd got more desperate when they learnt that they could get foreign service postings and then become pensionable. So doctors, nurses, teachers, engineer, and all manners of people who had paid jobs turned up and increased our dilemma.”

The minister’s aide said the scathing criticisms that greeted the stampede were uncalled for, arguing that the critics did not bother to find out what caused the stampede.

According to him, the minister and top officials of the ministry have gone into special intercessory prayers, specifically for the applicants who died. (0)

Immigration exercise: Abba Moro blames doctors, nurses, bankers, teachers, others for stampede and death

Minister Moro faces sack over death of 19 job seekers

Interior Minister Abba Moro’s job was hanging in the balance yesterday after a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan.

Abba Moro, Minister of Interior

Besides, there were protests in Abuja and Kaduna over the death last weekend of no fewer than 19 job seekers at Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) recruitment centres.

Jonathan summoned Moro and NIS Comptroller General Mr David Parradang to the Villa to explain what went wrong.

The presidential action followed the national outcry that greeted the deaths in Abuja, Minna, Port Harcourt and Benin centres of 19 applicants, including expectant women.

Eminent Nigerians have called for Moro’s resignation or his sack by the President over the poor handling of what should be a routine event.

Moro insisted yesterday that he would not resign. He blamed the victims for the stampede that led to their deaths, saying they failed to obey instructions. The minister added that some unauthorised people came to the centres to cause problems. He promised to set up a probe.

The organisation of the recruitment has been generally adjudged to be shoddy, with 520,000 job seekers chasing 4, 556 openings. There was stampede at the stadia used for the recruitment.

In Kaduna, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) led a protest to the NIS.

In Abuja, a civil society organisation spearheaded a march on the office of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

The NLC, in a statement by its President AbdulWaheed Omar, called for a probe of the deaths.

Moro and Parradang were at the Presidential Villa for over two hours. They were led to the President’s office by the Chief of Staff, Gen. Jones Arogbofa.

Jonathan described the “incident” as sad.

Speaking at the inauguration of the National Conference in Abuja, he said: “As we were preparing for this inauguration, a very sad incident happened on Saturday.”

He called for a minute silence “for the young lads who died on Saturday”.

It was learnt that Jonathan tongue lashed the two officials for about 20 minutes. They were reportedly dumbfounded throughout the session.

They could not give cogent reasons for the deaths.

The President was reported to have told them: “I am highly disappointed with your performance. I cannot tolerate this.”

It was learnt that the President’s mood suggested that the time was up for the two officials to resign – if they could read his countenance.

A highly-placed source said: “We have never seen the President in such a foul mood at the Villa. The case was compounded by the fact that the Minister and the Immigration chief could not give cogent reasons.

“They were just blabbing.

“At the end of the 20-minute session, the Minister and Parradang wobbled out of the President’s office, uncertain of their jobs.”

Another source in the Presidency said: “The President’s reaction suggested that they cannot go scot free at all. If they do not quit, he might show them the way out of government.

“What the President did was to tongue lash them, leave them to ponder and take the path of honour by quitting; otherwise they will be removed without dignity.”

It was gathered that Moro and Parradang were still trying to lobby some governors and highly-placed Nigerians to keep their jobs

Security agencies have started probing the involvement of a company, Drexel Nig. limited, in the recruitment tragedy.

A top official of one of the security agencies said: “From our preliminary findings, over N7billion was collected from 734,000 candidates who applied for about 4,556 vacancies.

“We are investigating how the company was engaged, the terms and the service rendered to the NIS.”

The peaceful protest at the Kaduna State command of the NIS was led by NLC Vice-President Isa Aremu. The protesters arrived at the NIS office early in the morning and blocked its entrance. They prevented the staff from entering their offices.

The union members carried placards that contained various inscriptions and a letter of protest which they wanted to deliver to the state controller.

However, the officers on duty barred the workers from the premises, telling them that the controller was not in the office.

Aremu demanded compensation for the families of the 19 victims.

He urged Jonathan to demonstrate that no life of an applicant would further be wasted at any recruitment centre.

He said: “The President should take action so as to prevent shameless exhibition of incompetence and non-service delivery by some of his ministers.”

The Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights (CASER), led the Abuja protest.

The Executive Director of CASER, Mr Frank Tietie, led some members to the NHRC headquarters.

Tietie urged the authorities to probe the incident and bring those found wanting to book.

He said lack of crowd control measures and medical emergency personnel at the centres across the country was a violation of the applicants’ rights to life and dignity.

Tietie said preventable deaths, occasioned by negligence and inaction, were rife in the country.

He called for urgent action to prevent a recurrence.

The CASER executive director submitted a petition addressed to the UN Human Rights Commission to the Executive Secretary of NHRC, Prof. Ben Angwe, for onward transmission.

Angwe described the incident as “sad, not only to the commission but also the Federal Government and country at large”.

The commission is investigating into incident.

Angwe expressed regret that the exercise, which was meant to provide jobs for Nigerians and reduce unemployment, resulted in avoidable deaths.

He said that the incident had kick-started a new beginning in the campaign for the protection of the fundamental human rights of Nigerians.

He assured the group of NHRC’s commitment to assisting in identifying the victims and ensuring they were compensated by the government.

The NHRC executive secretary praised CASER for its action, saying it indicated that groups were heeding the commission’s call for sensitisation of Nigerians to their human rights.

The NLC said the congress was saddened and shocked to learn of the avoidable deaths.

Said Omar: “It is grossly unfair for the Immigration Service to have invited thousands of our youths to physically present themselves to compete to fill a miserly 4000 vacancies.

“Nothing but crass opportunism can explain this heartless scam.

“A more rational and discerning recruitment process could easily have reduced the number by insisting on raising minimum standards.

“The explanation by the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, that 520,000 applicants were invited for 4,556 spaces and that the applicants died in a stampede due to impatient and non-adherence to laid down orderly procedure, is rather weak and untenable.’’

Omar noted that to have invited so many applicants for such few spaces was unacceptable.

He called on the Federal Government to investigate the NIS, query the methods it adopted and the discretion it exercised in conducting the programme.

“It is also important to remind government of the danger that unemployment, particularly unemployment of qualified youths, represents.

“We, therefore, call on the government to tackle unemployment with increased commitment, and appropriately sanction those who have had a hand in causing these scandalous deaths.”

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) described the stampede as a national disaster. It called for an investigation. (0)

Minister Moro faces sack over death of 19 job seekers

Immigration recruitment: Family of deceased demand bodies

It was all tears yesterday at the National Hospital, Abuja where families of some of the victims of the weekend’s Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) recruitment fiasco battled to collect their remains.

Besides, many stormed the hospital in search of their missing wards.

Deceased

Seven people, including five women, died at the Abuja centre. In all, 19, among them three expectant women at the Benin centre, died in cities where the exercise took place.

In Minna, the Niger State capital, bodies of two applicants remained unclaimed yesterday. “Nobody has come to claim them,” a hospital official said.

The relations of the dead who came to the National Hospital were not given the bodies.

But, survivurs at the Abuja, Port Harcourt and Lagos centres relived their experiences.

One of the dead at the Abuja centre was Oyiza Yusuf, a 35-year-old mother of one.

Her brother Mohammed Yekini pleaded unsuccessfully for her body to be released for burial “since she is a Muslim”.

Interior Minister Abba Moro, whose ministry supervises the NIS, urged the hospital to release the bodies.

But, as at press time last night, the bodies had not been given to the families.

There were 11 injured at the hospital.

Mr. Yekini spoke of how he received the news of Oyiza’s death, saying: “I am a lecturer at the Federal Polytechnic, Nassarawa and I was in my office when my wife called to say she was dead.

“She is a Muslim and we do not want further delay. Her remains should have been buried yesterday (Saturday). Her death is causing us more pains. She is married with a kid. She was defrauded N1,500 last year for this same job. She did not get it. Things have to change, we have to begin to get it right. What is happening in this country is not good. Government is not good to us. The problem is that may be the people they wanted have been employed.

“She was with us two months or so ago. Had I know, about this, I would not have allowed it. Now her father and mother are alive. She is 35 years and one of the bread winners of the family. She is into business, buying and selling.”

Oyiza’s sister, Bilikisu, was all tears: “I have called the Minister of FCT, Bala Mohammed, to help talk to the hospital authority to release our dead to us. She told me that she would be going for the interview and she went with a friend who resides in Lugbe. Later I called her number, it was not going through. I guess it was when they were trying to enter the stadium. Her friend was pregnant. She was trying to rescue her friend who fell when she was trapped. Our brother informed us that Oyiza is dead.

“We cannot leave the dead body in the mortuary. We could not sleep till daybreak. It is like leaving a sick person in the hospital without care.”

Mrs Aronia Abigail was at the hospital in search of her brother who was among those rushed in for treatment.

A mother of three, Abigail, who was an applicant, said: “I am from Jos. My husband is from Kogi. To God be the glory, everything is difficult to explain. As I’m talking right now, my brother is still missing. Look at his certificate with me here. Before that incident, we lost contact and I have not seen him. He is my immediate younger brother. When I saw the crowd when they were about to open the gate, my spirit was telling me that I should not go in. I was telling other people that we should retreat. I was even using the military language. Somebody pushed me and another person hit me. I am a mother of three, including a six months old. In this country, something is wrong with us.”

The bodies of the two victims in Minna, Niger State are yet to be identified. Nobody had come forward to claim them – as at last night.

They are deposited at the Minna General Hospital mortuary. The victims are a male and a female.

Four of the seven injured persons – all women- were still at the General Hospital yesterday. Three injured men were transferred to IBB Specialist Hospital for further treatment.

Commissioner for Health Dr. Ibrahim Sule confirmed that the two bodies were still in the morgue.

“I have been on top of the matter personally since Saturday and I have directed that the injured should be attended to adequately,” the commissioner said.

He blamed the Immigration Service for not liaising with the ministry about the programme.

“It was wrong of the organisers to have planned a programme of that magnitude without provision for medical. They also failed to liaise with my ministry, we would have gone there with mobile clinic,” Sule said.

Speaking from her sick bed, Blessing Bako, a School Certificate holder, said she owed her luck to a sister who saw her when she was trampled upon by other applicants who were trying to run away from the tear gas released by an Immigration Officer to drive away the surging crowd at the Government Girls Secondary School venue of the aptitude test.

Recounting her ordeal, Bako said: “I recalled I fell down following a surge and people were stepping on me until one of my sisters called two men and came to my rescue.

“I have my waist dislocated and I cannot move. I am also having some pains on my chest and my left shoulder”, she said.

To Hannah Damidami, an NCE holder, how she found herself in the hospital was a mystery. “We were on a queue. I remember that some young men just rushed and pushed those of us on the queue. At a point, I was sandwiched and I lost my breath. The next thing was to find myself in the hospital.

“I don’t know who brought me here and it was when I became conscious the hospital management took some information and contacted, my people. I thank God and the hospital staff for saving my life,” Damidami stated.

Still with blood shot eyes and a broken arm, Damidami lamented the ordeal applicants suffered. She vowed never to attend such an aptitude test again.

Immigration recruitment: Family of deceased demand bodies

Jonathan, Tambuwal furious over job seekers’ death

There was outrage yesterday over the death at the weekend of no fewer than 19 Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) job seekers at the recruitment centres.

At the venue

About 520,000 applicants were programmed to undergo tests at various centres across the country on Saturday.

There were only 4,556 openings and each of the job seekers paid N1,000. They bought Tee shirts for N500 each at the centres.

The deaths occurred at the centres during stampede as a result of the poor crowd management. Among the dead are four expectant women.

The body count include: Abuja (eight), Port Harcourt (five), Minna (three) and Benin (three).

A report yesterday said two (both women) died at the Kano centre.

Seven of the over 20, 000 applicants at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Sani Abacha Stadium, were injured.

The NIS spokesman in Kano, Ahmed Lawal Kanoma, denied the deaths. He said: “No person died at the venue of the examination.

“The only thing that happened was that two female and five male applicants sustained injuries during a stampede and were treated and allowed to sit for the exam.”

Some applicants recalled that there was “a sudden surge, which led to the collapse of two female job seekers. One of them – an expectant woman, suffocated and became unconscious.

Minister of Interior Abba Moro, whose ministry supervises the NIS and indeed the recruitment, chided the victims.

He said: “The applicants lost their lives due to impatience. They did not follow the laid down procedure 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.”

The test in Lagos was cancelled.

President Goodluck Jonathan, House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, senators, the All Progressives Congress and others were angry.

Dr. Jonathan reportedly demanded an explanation from the minister of Interior.

The President was said to be in receipt of how the Ministry of Interior outsourced the recruitment to Drexel Nig. Limited.

Also, there were indications yesterday that a top NIS official has been queried.

Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) demanded Moro’s prosecution.

It called for the immediate dismissal of NIS’s top officials and the Federal Ministry of Interior.

The President was unhappy with security reports and personal findings on the recruitment module adopted by the NIS.

A source said: “The President, who was personally devastated by the incidents, demanded an explanation from the Minister of Interior on what went wrong.

“The minister and the Nigeria Immigration Service are expected to turn in their responses latest by Monday (today).”The mood at the Presidential Villa was bad and heads may roll where any case of negligence or tardiness is established.

“All other security agencies and para-military organisations involved in the process have turned in their reports.”

Another top source, who spoke in confidence, said: “Ideally, in a nation where there is conscience, the minister ought to have turned in his resignation on Saturday night.

“The international embarrassment created for Jonathan administration by the death of these innocent souls does not warrant those in charge to remain in government.

“The minister’s comments did not help matters. He was busy blaming the applicants for the stampede.”A Presidency source said: “Last year the Ministry of Interior under Abba Morro outsourced the recruitment into the Nigerian Immigration Service to a company, Drexel Nig Limited. Over 700,000 (734,000 actually) applied, and paid N1000 to the company.

“Last week, the Minister instructed the NIS to conduct the placement test for those that applied.

“NIS was said to have applied for funds to conduct the recuitment but the company replied that funding the test was not part of the agreement. NIS couldn’t pay for any of the venues as at 9 am on Saturday.

“At the Abuja National Stadium, for instance, while the applicants had massed at the gate from 6 am, the Service could only pay the Stadium authority about 10am and the gates were thereafter opened, hence the surge and stampede.

“If the ministry and the consultants had allowed us to conduct our interview the way we normally do it, we would have segmented it into categories of vacancies, with different dates in different zones. How do you conduct a test for over 700,000 people for 4,560 vacancies in one day? What was the work of the consultants? Couldn’t they have shortlisted the applicants.

“If someone collected that much money, he should take pains to screen their certificates, their ages and other requirements and weed out the unqualified. And how do you ask an organisation to conduct the test of that magnitude without a kobo?”

It was gathered that the minister and top officials of NIS were battling to save their jobs.

“There is no way heads will not roll; this is really embarrassing to the nation. Many security agencies have begun independent probe into the incidents.”

Tambuwal described as “unfortunate’’.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Malam Imam Imam, the speaker said the death of the innocent youths was sorrowful and regrettable.

He said it was more regrettable, considering the fact that they were at the screening centres in search of jobs that would better their lot and that of their loved ones.

Tambuwal urged the authorities concerned to investigate the tragedy and advised them to map out strategies to prevent future occurrence.

He urged governments at all levels to work closely with the Organised Private Sector to tackle the unemployment problem facing the nation.

The speaker condoled with the families of those who lost their loved ones, and prayed for quick recovery of injured ones.

Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba described the death of job seekers as an unimaginable tragedy for the country.

Ndoma-Egba said the deaths were particularly worrisome, adding: “As a nation, this is an unimaginable tragedy. These deaths are coming at a time when the nation is grappling with the unwarranted deaths of innocent citizens at the hands of Boko Haram sect.

“Regrettably, this is a tragic reminder that our nation must do something very urgently to create opportunities for young men and women. We must do everything to generate employment for our people.”

Jonathan, Tambuwal furious over job seekers’ death

Four Pregnant women among those who died at immigration recruitment

A recruitment drive by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) yesterday ended in death, tears and sorrow for many at most of the centres across the country.

At the venue

In all 19 people died: three pregnant women in Benin, eight applicants made up of six women and two men in Abuja, three in Minna and five in Port Harcourt including a pregnant woman.

Dozens of others were injured in stampedes as the applicants struggled to position themselves at the recruitment centres.

The ruling PDP last night expressed sympathies with the families of the dead.

Those in Calabar were flogged by security men brought in to control the sea of heads that turned up for the aptitude test.

The situation at the National Stadium, Abuja which served as the Federal Capital Territory centre was particularly rowdy.

About 70,000 turned up for the test.

About 50 of them including pregnant women were injured in the stampede that ensued as the applicants tried to gain entry into the main bowl of the stadium through only one point.

The injured were rushed to the National Hospital in the city for treatment.

They accused officials of poor handling of the situation.

An applicant, Joel Omo, said of his experience: “I arrived this venue by exactly 5am and met a sea of other applicants already waiting for the officials to open the entrance gate. We waited until around 9am when the officials started trickling in.

“Instead of them to throw the whole gates open, they only managed to open one of them. But, with everybody eager to enter first, there was stampede and many found themselves on the ground. Others who were being pushed by those behind trampled on those on the ground.”

Doctors at the National Stadium battled for much of the day to save the lives of the injured.

At the Accident and Emergency section of the National Hospital, there are more than 19 casualties either lying on the bed or lying critically unconscious on the floor waiting for the doctors battling to attend to them.

Another applicant, Mrs. Aroniya Abigail, said she was resuscitated at the hospital.

But the mother of two grieved that she was yet to find her brother who was also at the recruitment ground.

Deceased

“I will say to God be the glory that I’m alive to tell the story. As I talk to you now, my brother is still missing. We came together to the stadium but I have not seen him after the stampede. I have tried his number repeatedly but it was not going. I still have his credentials with me now but I cannot reach him,” she said.

Many of the applicants lost their credentials while others had their dresses torn during the stampede.

The three pregnant women who died at the Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin centre were said to have died while the recruitment was in progress.

Trouble started at about 10am, when officials in charge of the screening lost control of the crowd prompting the soldiers on guard to start shooting sporadically into the air.

The over 28,000 applicants who had gathered in the stadium panicked and started scampering for safety.

The result was a stampede.

The screening started at about 2pm by which time some of the applicants had had enough and left for home in annoyance.

In Port Harcourt, authorities of the Rivers government-owned Braithwaite Memorial Hospital confirmed that five candidates including a pregnant woman died during a stampede at the city’s recruitment centre.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that more than 20,000 candidates came for the test.

A competent source at the hospital, told NAN that 12 candidates were brought to the hospital after the stampede.

“I can confirm to you that four have died, four others are in critical condition while four were treated and discharged,’’ the source said.

The source, who pleaded for anonymity, said a pregnant woman was among the dead.

Three of the 11,000 applicants at the Minna centre also died during a similar stampede triggered by the accreditation of the applicants.

The large number of the applicants were said to have overwhelmed the officials assigned to conduct the exercise.

One of the officials reportedly fired a canister of tear gas apparently to control the crowd but ended up triggering a stampede.

One of the victims that was rushed to Minna General Hospital was in a critical condition while three other injured victims were said to be stable.

The Niger State Commissioner for Health, Dr Ibrahim Sule, said only two of the applicants died. According to him, “one female was reported dead on arrival at the hospital and the other male applicant died at Minna General Hospital.

He also said that four other males were equally treated and discharged, while seven other female applicants are currently receiving treatment for their injuries at the hospital.

The State Controller of Immigration Service, Ezekiel S. Kaura, confirmed that 11,000 candidates sat for the recruitment examination in Minna centre but said that five collapsed as a result of stampede and were rushed to the hospital.

Seven applicants were injured at the Kano centre. Two of the injured were women.

The applicants were struggling to enter the Indoor Sports Hall of Sani Abacha Stadium when a stampede ensued.

In Calabar, soldiers, and personnel of the Immigration Service and the Civil Defence flogged applicants at the Federal Government Girls College venue of the recruitment for allegedly being rowdy.

One the job seekers who gave his name as Joe told our reporter he was in serious pain after receiving lashes from one of the security men.

His words: “my brother, look at me: a Master’s degree holder. I was flogged because I’m looking for work. I cannot remember the last time I was flogged and looking for a job is the last place I expected such a thing would be done. It is so painful.”

The exam did not start until 4pm.

Many of the applicants even had no desk or chair to write the exam had to sit on the school sport field to do so.

About 5,000 candidates turned out for the test in Gombe.

The applicants were joined by those from Borno State because of the insecurity in the state.

Five women fainted   at the  Mudasiru Lawal Stadium, Abeokuta   recruitment centre.

The stampede ensured after Immigration officers deployed  to the centre to maintain peace started shooting into the air.

Many  of the applicants  returned home bruised, humiliated, wearied and disappointed as shootings and confusion took the better part of exercise in the state.

The NIS Spokesperson, Felix Kuti,  said those  rejected but refused to leave the premises  precipitated  the confusion.

He said: “they were getting unmanageable and you know this venue with lots of

cars and property if they were not scared away by that shooting, they were ready to engage in violence as they had begun throwing stones.”

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) last night  expressed grief at the death of the applicants.

The National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh,  said that the party  was shocked and deeply saddened by the news of the untimely death of the young citizens who were at the exercise not only to secure jobs but to be allowed the opportunity to contribute towards  the development of the nation.

The party stated that it was unfortunate and disheartening that the victims paid the supreme price while trying to be more useful to the nation.

While commiserating with the families of the deceased, the ruling party prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured in the stampede and charged the Ministry of Interior and all relevant agencies of government to, as a matter of urgency, unravel the remote and immediate causes of the stampede.

Four Pregnant women among those who died at immigration recruitment