Earlyface

Authorities of National Hospital, Abuja, on
Saturday confirmed seven persons among
67,000 Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) job
applicants in the FCT dead.
The applicants had converged on the
National Stadium, Abuja, one of the venues
for the test to fill 5,000 vacancies in NIS and
many were said to have arrived at the centre
before 6a.m..
The service had fixed the test nationwide
for the 7,000 applicants for the available
jobs.
However, a stampede ensued at the FCT
centre about 7a.m. when the screening of
candidates was to start for the test
scheduled for 4p.m.
Mr Tayo Haastrup, the spokesman for the
hospital, told the News Agency of Nigeria
that the seven, five women and two men,
were brought in dead and that the bodies
had been deposited at the mortuary.
“The hospital received some casualties from
the stampede from the ongoing
Immigration recruitment at the National
Stadium.
“Those that died were seven in number, five
women are and two men, their corpses
have been deposited at the mortuary,
“Haastrup said.
He said the hospital was stabilising those
brought in unconscious from the stampede,
while other casualties had been taken to
other hospitals, including Asokoro General
Hospital.
NAN recalls that in 2008, no fewer than 20
people died in various states of the
federation during a similar exercise
conducted by the Ministry of Interior for
Nigeria Prisons Service, Nigeria Immigration
Service and Customs Service.