were injured on Saturday during a
nationwide recruitment test conducted
by the Nigeria Immigration Service.
The applicants reportedly paid the sum
of N1,000 as application fee.
Millions of job seekers had thronged
venues of the exercise, mostly stadia,
for the exercise.
Seven were confirmed dead after a
stampede at the National Stadium,
Abuja, venue of the exercise in the
Federal Capital Territory.
The 60,000-seater stadium was filled
up.
Each candidate was required to wear a
white T-shirt, boxer shorts, socks and
tennis shoe for the exercise.
The candidates, our correspondent
gathered, were tested in logical
reasoning, English language and
mathematics.
The applicants, mostly youths, had
certificates ranging from master's
degree to bachelor's degree, Higher
National Diploma, National Certificate in
Education, National Diploma and Senior
Secondary School Leaving Certificate.
Three dead in Niger
Three job seekers, out of the 11,000
candidates who converged on the
Women Day Secondary School Minna for
the recruitment exercise died when
security agencies fired tear-gas at
anxious applicants.
Security sources told our correspondent
that Immigration personnel were
overwhelmed by the crowd that lined up
to two kilometres from the venue of
the examination.
When our correspondent visited the
Minna General Hospital, where the
victims were taken to, one of the
victims, apart from the dead, was in
critical condition.
When contacted, the Comptroller of
Immigration Service, Niger State
Command, Ezekiel Kaura confirmed, that
11,000 candidates sat for the
recruitment examination in Minna
centre and that five candidates
collapsed as a result of the stampede.
Five die in Rivers
At least, five persons, including a
pregnant woman, lost their lives during
a stampede at the Port Harcourt
Liberation Stadium venue of the
recruitment exercise.
Also, many of the applicants sustained
injuries.
About 35,000 job seekers, clad in white
T-shirts and shoes, had stormed the
stadium at about 7am on Saturday for
the physical and written NIS tests.
One of the applicants, who gave her
name as Blessing, said a pregnant
woman, who was injured, later died in
the hospital.
She said, "Five persons died. One of
them, a pregnant woman, jumped the
fence and hit her stomach on the
ground. She was taken to the hospital.
When we started leaving, we learnt that
the woman had died.
"The other gates were locked and
everybody struggled through the only
available gate. Not everybody took the
examination because there was no
space; there was no space for those
with HND and O'level. There was space
for those with B.Sc."
The Public Relations Officer, NIS, Rivers
State Command, Mr. Abang Bisong, said
the stampede was caused by the
unexpected number of applicants that
turned out for the exercise.
Bisong explained that while the NIS was
expecting 20,000 applicants, about
35,000 job seekers, which was beyond
the capacity of the stadium, showed up
for the fitness and written tests.
Similarly, they were reports that three
pregnant women died at the exam
venue in Edo State.
22,000 applicants in Kwara
No fewer than 22,000 candidates sat for
the test in Ilorin, the Kwara State
capital.
The test took place at the Sports Centre
of the University of Ilorin.
Mamoth crowd in Lagos
In Lagos, the exercise was conducted at
the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos,
where applicants expressed concern
over the poor conduct of the exercise.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that
thousands of applicants had besieged
the venue as early as 7am.
Some nursing mothers, pregnant women
and persons with disabilities also came
for the recruitment exercise.
An applicant, Miss Dolapo Akinkunmi,
who said she had been unemployed for
over five years, said, "I got the message
on Wednesday that the examination
would hold on Saturday. My doctor
refused to discharge me, but I had to
beg him because I need the job
desperately.
"This is already noon and we have not
started. I have to go back to the
hospital now before I die here because I
cannot stand the crowd and the heat of
the sun," she said.
15,000 job seekers in Kano
No fewer than 15,000 jobseekers sat for
the test in Kano.
The state Comptroller, NIS, Mr Zitas
Nanpon, told the News Agency of
Nigeria in Kano on Saturday.
NAN reports that the screening and
examination took place at the Sani
Abacha Stadium in the Kano metropolis.
Nanpon said, "Right now, not less than
15, 000 applicants are on ground and
more are still coming into the venue.
The standard is that everybody that has
an acknowledgement slip is eligible for
this exercise."
NIS overwhelmed in Benue
At the Aper Aku Stadium, Makurdi, the
Benue State capital, no fewer than 17,
800 applicants took part in the exercise.
The state Public Relations Officer, NIS,
Mr. Tersoo Ukeyima, told NAN in
Makurdi that the service was
overwhelmed by the number of
applicants and did its best to
accommodate them.
Stampede in Gombe
About 5,000 job seekers from Gombe
and Borno took part in the exercise at
the Abubakar Umar Memorial Stadium,
Gombe.
NAN reports that there was a stampede
as a result of struggle at the entrance of
the venue.
It was learnt that applicants from Borno
were transferred to Gombe as a result
of the security challenge in the state.
Police stops protesters in Enugu
Police officers in Enugu State on
Saturday prevented protesting
applicants from entering the premises of
the NIS.
The applicants had gathered at the
Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu, by 7am
for the recruitment exercise but
became worried when the exercise did
not commence by 2pm.
SUNDAY PUNCH gathered that they had
begun to mobilise for a protest, when
news got to police officers who halted
the action.
Cross River
In Calabar, the Rivers State capital,
thousands of applicants converged on
the Federal Government Girls' College
for the exercise.
Fierce-looking security operatives barred
non-applicants from gaining entrance
into the premises.
Our correspondent, however, gathered
from one of the applicants, who finished
his screening around 4pm, that the
number of job seekers who turned up
for the exercise was up to 5,000.
As of 5pm, the exercise was still
ongoing.
Woman slumps in Oyo
A major tragedy was averted at the
Obafemi Awolowo Stadium centre of the
aptitude test in Ibadan, Oyo State
capital, when a woman slumped during a
stampede, while two others required
emergency treatment for exhaustion.
More than 22,500 registered applicants
were present at the venue.
The woman who slumped during the
stampede could not be identified while
it took officials of the Oyo State
Ambulance Service about 20 minutes to
revive her.
Four slump in Osun
At least, four applicants who were
among thousands of youths seeking
employment with the NIS slumped at
St. Charles' Grammar School, Osogbo-
venue of the recruitment exercise.
The applicants slumped due to
exhaustion.
Thousands of the applicants arrived at
the venue as early as 6:30am to sit for
the examination but the first batch did
not sit for the test until around 3:30pm.
The state Comptroller, NIS, Stella
Onwaduegbo's intervention prevented a
protest by some applicants from
degenerating. Some of them were angry
that some applicants who came late
were given preference over those who
came early.
Applicants wait for nine hours in
Bayelsa
About 6,000 applicants sat the
recruitment examination of the Samson
Siasia Stadium venue of the exams.
It was learnt that problems of logistics
and accreditation were responsible for
the delay.
A candidate, Alfred Jude, alleged that a
pocket of malpractices took place. He
claimed that some invigilators aided
some candidates by dictating answers to
them during the test.
Another candidate, Rita Preye, said the
centre was congested such that
candidates copied from one another.
10 faint in Plateau
About 10 people fainted on Saturday
during the exercise in Jos, Plateau State
capital.
More than 30,000 job seekers sat the
examination at the Command Secondary
School along Zaria Road.
Although no death was recorded, those
who fainted where revived by the
emergency medical team provided for
the exercise.
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