Aftermath Of Immigration-Recruitment Tragedy: Employment-Seeking Crowd Storms Abuja National Hospital Over Compensation

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday announced that all injured applicants during the just concluded recruitment exercise of the Nigeria Immigration Service will gain automatic employment. He also allocated three slots each to the families of those who lost their lives.

Seque to that announcement, at least 200 applicants reportedly stormed the National Hospital, Abuja, seeking to be registered as beneficiaries in the presidential largesse.

Some of the applicants who trooped to the National hospital claimed that they had footed the bills of their treatment at private hospitals after sustaining various degrees of injuries after Saturday’s stampede.

A source who pleaded anonymity spoke to Leadership decried the insensitivity of some of those who claimed to have been injured.

“There is a deep problem in the land and people are becoming more desperate. This is sheer wickedness. Can you imagine a situation where some people are now claiming that they sustained injuries during the stampede and treated themselves in private hospitals and now need money since government has said that it will pay the medical bills?

“Incidentally, federal government is yet to make any funds available to us as we treated the victims without collecting any amount from them.

“Some of them are even claiming that they are related to the dead victims, saying that they are ready to take the three slots earmarked for the deceased. It will also interest you that some of them brought lawyers that will file legal action against government and claim compensation on their behalf.

“There was this pregnant woman who refused to be persuaded on the grounds that she must be given automatic employment or she would remain in the hospital. We had to use diplomacy before she agreed to leave.”