Stampede Mars Immigration Recruitment in Rivers

NIS Exam - A stampede marred the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) recruitment in Rivers. Some 25, 000 applicants were scheduled to participate in the NIS job recruitment interview holding at the 16, 000 capacity Liberation Stadium in Port Harcourt.

It was learnt that several NIS job applicants were seriously wounded, while some lost their certificates in the melee.

The Public Relations Officer of NIS in Rivers, Mr Abang Bisong, who confirmed the incident in Port Harcourt on Saturday, said the stampede was caused when about 20, 000 candidates forced their way into the stadium.

“During the stampede, some candidates fell and were trampled upon by others, while some became unconscious due to the incident. The victims have been taken to the Military Hospital for rehabilitation and treatment. At the moment, we have not received any information on their present condition,” Bisong said.

Bisong, a Superintendent of Immigration, said that NIS had advertised positions for university graduates, diploma holders and Senior Secondary School Certificate holders.

An eyewitness and victim, Mr Jasper Saturday, corroborated Bisong’s account but commended security agents in the manner they handled the crowd.

Saturday, who claimed to have lost his original certificates, said that gunshots released by security agents to disperse the crowd averted “a tragedy which could have occurred”.

“The immigration officers were trying to screen candidates from the stadium gate and in the process some candidates became impatient and started pushing us from the back. Those of us who were in the front fell to the ground because others stepped on us and as a result, some candidates lost consciousness. If not for the gunshots released to the air by security agents to scare the candidates pushing us from behind, there would have been several casualties,” Saturday said.

Source: NAN