allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Immigration Recruitment Drill - 20 Die in Four States (Page 1 of 2)

Twenty candidates in four different states across the country died on Saturday during recruitment drills conducted by the Nigeria Immigration Service as part of its nationwide enlistment examination.

Eight persons died in Kaduna, another four died in Ilorin, three died in Enugu while one died in Bauchi. Over 130,000 candidates, all of them young men and women, turned up nationwide to pursue 1,260 slots in the Immigration Service.

In Kaduna, another applicant who has been unconscious since Saturday, died yesterday at the Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital, bringing the state's casualty figure to eight.

Seven people had died Saturday while 10 others were hospitalised at various hospitals in Kaduna, according to witnesses' reports, following the eight hours' delay in commencement of the recruitment exercise, followed by the military-style drilling and the long distance race that they had to undergo in very humid weather as part of the physical fitness test.

Participants in the exercise said though it was initially slated for 6am when the weather was conducive, it did not commence until 2pm, by which time the weather was very hot and humid. However, due to their desperation for the job, the applicants in their thousands continued with the tasking physical test, which included the drilling and the 2.3 kilometre race, all to be concluded within a specific deadline.

Following the long wait, exertion and hunger coupled with dehydration, seven of them slumped and died during the military drilling exercise. Their corpses were taken to Barau Dikko Hospital mortuary, while many others who slumped were taken to the hospital for treatment. Ten other youngsters who fell unconscious were taken to Barau Dikko and Saint Gerard Catholic Hospitals, both in Kaduna.

When contacted on the deaths, the Comptroller of Immigration Service in Kaduna State Alhaji Yusuf Mohammed Bawa said 10,000 people applied for the job, but only 2,000 from the 23 local government areas in the state took part in the recruitment exercise. He said the exercise recorded "only one casualty." Bawa also said the deceased must had been unfit and unable to go through the gruelling paramilitary drilling and exercise.

He said, "Only one person died during the recruitment exercise, according to the information available to me. You see, military drilling and long distance running are routine exercises during recruitment of paramilitary men. It is unfortunate that some of them are unfit and had to slump or go into coma. we normally warn them to ensure their fitness before coming for the exercise. We will take responsibility for the medical bills of those hospitalised."

However, relatives of some of the victims said yesterday that seeking employment in a law-abiding society needs not be fatal if all necessary precautions are taken. According to Ramatu Moha-mmed Barakallahu, sister to Malam Nasiru Mohammed, one of those who died during the exercise, "it is only the poor who are allowed to go through such pathetic situation while the rich have it all the easy way."

"It is unfortunate that it is the children of the masses that face this kind of problems. Imagine that you are asked to look for job not to be idle, only for you to apply and lose your life during the interview. it is pathetic and showed what the masses of this country go through in the course of being law abiding. Our children could not have good education because of the poor state of our schools while the children of the rich attend the best of schools abroad. Even after struggling through school you have unemployment starring you in the face and when you finally think succour has come to provide you with employment, the recruitment leads you to your grave. That is the pathetic story of the poor in our country," she said amidst tears.

In Ilorin, eight persons also lost their lives while hundreds of others sustained serious injuries at the weekend during the national recruitment exercise of the Nigeria Immigration and Prison Services.

The recruitment exercise that was to employ 35 candidates per state for each of the agencies however claimed the lives of six at the prison service recruitment venue and two at the Immigration center, both in Ilorin. Daily Trust gathered that four females and two males died at the prison service, while two males also lost their lives at the immigration service recruitment exercise.

Daily Trust observed at the venues of the exercises that a long distance race conducted among thousands of applicants with the Ordinary National Diploma (OND) and National Certificate of Education (NCE) preceded the written session. The applicants, numbering over 4,000, besieged the screening centers as early as 7 am on Saturday for the exercise.

According to an officer of the Nigeria Prison Service who spoke to Daily Trust in anonymity, the premises was overcrowded before the commencement of the recruitment exercise, adding that when the exercise finally commenced some of the applicants in an effort to get themselves screened, jumped the queue, which led to a stampede.

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