Mr. Austin Amun and his three children
EDO STATE - Austin Amun lost his wife Sandra last Saturday, March 15, 2014, at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, where the now-notorious recruitment exercise of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) took place.
If he had known how the day would end, he laments, he would have asked government to forget its job so they could continue to live together. Mr. Amun, from Uzebba, Owan West LGC of Edo State, survived the stampede.
Amun recalled they got to the recruitment venue on time, but met an uncontrollable crowd at the stadium, as thousands of applicants struggled to participate in the job test.
The stampede occurred because the organizers decided to lock the big gates and used the small ones at the stadium. As a result, people had to pay N1000 each to gain entry. Those who could not afford the money made frantic efforts to find their way into the stadium at all costs, a situation that created chaos.