Man narrates how his wife died at the NIS Recruitment Exercise In Benin

Late Mrs Sandra's Family

The husband of one of those who didn’t make it alive back home at the just held Nigerian Immigration Service recruitment exercise in Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium Benin City has asked the Government to please provide a job for him to be able to look after the three children the deceased has now left alone in his care.

According to Mr Amun, he and his late wife woke up very early that day to be able to get to the venue on time. After they had queued for a while, he became tensed and almost couldn't breathe and asked his wife to let them go home, but she told him to look for a seat outside the stadium and relax while she remains on the queue.

While outside the stadium, his wife’s brother (who also came for the same exercise) ran into him and asked after his sister, and he told him she was on the queue.

Around 4pm, they were asked to come in and write a test and he looked all around for her, but she was nowhere to be found. His younger brother later forced him to go and write the test, that his sister must be somewhere writing hers already.

After the test, the search continued and he waited till around 7pm at the stadium gate for his wife, but she never came.

After getting home without meeting her at home, he became more worried and decided to go to the hospital most of the injured victims were rushed too, but to his surprise his wife's name was not among the names of the victims showed to him.

The nurses later told him, a corpse was brought in with no identification, he asked to see the corpse, and on getting there, he saw his wife lying down lifeless.

''Behold I saw my wife sleeping alone. I touched her, she could not touch me, I called her, she could not answer'', he said in tears.

Mr Amun also made a vital statement that the stampede occurred when some immigration officials locked the stadium’s big gate and left the smaller one opened, and requested that each candidate pay N1000 each before entering the stadium. Those who could afford it paid, and those who couldn’t made every effort to get into the stadium and that lead to the initial stampede, Mr Amum revealed.

He however pleaded with the Government to please give him and his brother in-law a job, so he would be able to look after his three children.