Seven months after the ill-fated Nigeria Immigration Service recruitment, some victims of the stampede in Benin, the Edo State capital, protested the non-implementation of the compensation promised them by President Goodluck Jonathan.
It will be recalled that 18 persons died including one at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, venue of the exercise in Edo while over 20,000 applicants were injured in the stampede that trailed the exercise nationwide on March 15, this year.
President Jonathan had after a public outcry on March 19 directed that three employment slots be given to each of the families of those who lost their lives in the stampede while those who sustained injuries be given automatic employment.
However, the victims during a peaceful protest in Benin on Tuesday, said that they had yet to get any of the promises made by the President.
The protesting victims and their families had placards with inscriptions which read, “We are traumatised immigration victims still without jobs,” “Please, allow the souls of the departed NIS victims to rest in peace” and “Mr. Goodluck Jonathan, we are still waiting for your promise.”
They appealed to the Federal Government to fulfill its promise.
One of the victims, Austin Amu, who lost his wife during the exercise, told one of our correspondents that he and his three children had been suffering since the death of his 27-year-old wife.
Amu, who also participated in the exercise, said that his several visits to the NIS office for the promised job had yielded no fruit.
Another victim, Timothy Omoagbon, told one of our correspondents that life had been difficult for his family since the incident.
Omoagbon said, “I saw my wife lying down on the ground after she collapsed in the stadium. It took the efforts of immigration officials to revive her.
“But later she started coughing out blood and couldn’t breathe very well.
“We went to the NIS but they told us that they were waiting for directive from Abuja and would let us know when they get it. But we have not heard anything till now. We are appealing to President Jonathan to fulfil his promise.”
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the NIS, Emeka Obua, said it was only the Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission, Mrs. Joan Obua, that could speak on the issue.
This, he said, was because Obua was the chairperson of the Presidential Committee on Immigration Recruitment set up by President Jonathan to work out the modalities for the compensation of the families of those that died during the failed immigration recruitment across the nation.
