Victims of the March 15 Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, recruitment stampede on Wednesday said they are yet to be compensated, one month after Federal Government’s promise.
The victims said this during the public hearing on the stampede, organised in Abuja by some non-governmental organisations, NGOs, to sensitise the public and government to the plight of the victims.
The organisations are Say No campaign, Centre for Democracy and Development, Berekete Family Radio and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa.
President Goodluck Jonathan had offered automatic employment to three members of the family of each deceased applicants and all those injured in the stampede.
This followed the tragedy that struck when 19 NIS applicants died in a stampede at the National Stadium, Abuja and other venues nationwide.
Paul Nasiru, who lost his wife, Mariam, in the stampede, said that all the promises made by the government to employ three members of their family were yet to be fulfilled.
“I am a business man and my wife was also a business woman before she went for the exercise that claimed her life.
“She was responsible for our three children but since she died, it has not been easy.
“Although the NIS called me a week after her death to get information about her next of kin, I have not heard anything else since then.
“I am appealing to the Federal Government to come to our aid and to keep its promise to us so as to help in alleviating our suffering.
“As it is now, the family has buried my wife without help from the government.’’
Helen Ademu, an applicant who sustained injury during the recruitment, said she had to walk with crutches for three weeks.
Ms. Ademu said she was still waiting to get the employment promised by the government almost a month after the incident.
“All I am asking is for the government to keep to its promise; I have really suffered.
“I was relieved when we were promised employment and now it’s almost a month and I have not seen or heard anything; I am beginning to get worried.’’
Another applicant, Kashim Yakubu, said he was also injured and taken to the National Hospital for treatment by NEMA officials but was later transferred to Asokoro General Hospital.
Mr. Yakubu said his name was formerly on the list because he saw it but along the line, it was probably “replaced with another name’’.
He alleged that there were many irregularities on the side of the hospital staff.
He said most of the names of the victims were not found on the original list even after they were treated in the hospitals without paying.
The same applied to Oluko Caleb who claimed he was also injured and treated at the National Hospital.
He, however, said that though his name was on the list, he was yet to get any form for employment.
Many of the applicants who aired their grievances asked for the refund of their registration money.
John Eze, also an applicant, urged the NIS to refund his money, saying: “You may think that N1,000 is small when you sum up all the money collected, it is a lot.
“For an applicant, it is a big deal to lose N1,000. The NIS should be kind enough to put themselves in our shoes and feel our pain.’’
Ahmed Isah, anchor of the Berekete Family Programme and co-organiser of the event, said the public hearing was aimed at helping the NIS victims.
“Nigerians are tired of waiting on empty promises; this time, we will strive to ensure that this promise is kept,’’ Mr. Isah said.
He advised Nigerian youth to be productive and creative in ways that would earn them money and make them self-reliant instead of waiting on the government to provide everything.
The co-convener of the campaign, Ezenwa Nwagwu, said the hearing was to provide a platform for people to air their views, to help the current effort.
Mr. Nwagwu said it was also to bring to the limelight the trauma people went through.
“It’s not just that people died but that there is also denial of citizens’ right to good living in life so this is a way of giving the people the opportunity for a healing remedy.
“There are many issues to be settled, especially the issue of money of the applicants which needs to be refunded; another issue is the compensation of victims.
“The promise of jobs is yet to be fulfilled. It is not enough to make promises when we are going through challenges; we have to make good on the promises.
“The government should keep this promise,’’ he said.
(NAN)
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