Council approves compensation to families of Immigration Service recruitment mishaps

Abuja (Federal Executive Council News) – The Meeting of the Federal Executive Council which held in the Presidential Villa, Asokoro in Abuja on Wednesday March 9, 2014 has approved the payment of compensation to the families of deceased victims of the March 15, 2014 Immigration Service recruitment mishap across the country. 

While briefing State House Correspondents on the Council’s deliberations after the meeting, the Information Minister, Labaran Maku said that the Minister of Interior briefed the Council on the circumstances surrounding the deaths and injuries at various centres during the Immigration Service recruitment exercise which held on Saturday March 15, 2014.

Labaran Maku informed reporters about the Minister of Interior’s explanation that in a bid to ensure transparency, fairness and cost effectiveness in the recruitment, the Ministry had earlier decided to adopt the online registration format as well as engaged a consultant that shortlisted the applicants with the payment of one thousand naira per applicant as fee to access the recruitment portal.

According to Maku, President Jonathan expressed deep sadness over the casualties and fatalities which happened during the Immigration Service recruitment exercise across the country, adding that the incidents were avoidable.  Maku also said that the Nigerian President declared that such incidents would not be allowed to re-occur under his administration and warned that any public official implicated in a similar incident in the future would be held criminally liable.

“President Jonathan has directed that three family members of each deceased applicant, one of whom should be a female, should be given immediate and automatic employment in the NIS.  All the injured applicants should as well be given immediate and automatic employment in the NIS and modalities for awarding monetary compensations to the families of the deceased should be worked out,” he said.