NIS Tragedy: 4 Applicants Sue FG, Moro, 3 Others
ABUJA—Four survivors of the recent recruitment exercise of the
Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, that resulted in the death of
eighteen persons nationwide, yesterday, dragged the Federal Government
to court.
In an originating summons they entered before the Abuja
Division of the Federal High Court, the plaintiffs, Charles Ugwuonye,
Friday Danlami, Chinedu Onwuka and Samson Ojo urged the court to declare
that the conduct of the recruitment exercise was illegal, unwarranted
and amounted to a gross violation of the applicants’ fundamental rights
to life.
Those they prayed the court to summon before it yesterday
included the Minister of Interior, Mr. Abba Moro, the Attorney General
of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN,
Nigerian Immigration Service and its Comptroller General, Mr. David
Shikfu Parradang.
The plaintiffs, who filed the matter on behalf
of themselves and other applicants that participated in the NIS ‘killer
job’, urged the high court to restrain the NIS from spending the money
realised from the recruitment exercise.
Besides, in the case which
they entered under sections 33, 34 and 44 of the 1999 Constitution, as
amended, and the equivalent articles of the African Charter on Human and
Peoples Right Act, the plaintiffs, equally want the court to order the
respondents to refund the recruitment money back to the applicants, as
well as, pay the sum of N1million to each applicant that took part in
the unfortunate exercise.
More so, the plaintiffs, prayed the
court to award the sum of N50m to families of the deceased applicants as
general damages and also declare that the federal government, violated
the applicants right to protection from inhuman and degrading treatment,
right to dignity of the human person, right against discrimination on
the basis of the circumstances of birth, and right against unlawful
taking of the property of a person; under Sections 33, 34, 42 and 44 of
the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.
Moreover,
the plaintiffs, prayed the court for an order declaring that the
respondents, particularly the Minister of Interior and Comptroller
General of the NIS, owed the duty of honesty and candor to the
applicants regarding the true purpose and intention behind the
recruitment exercise.
They further sought a declaration that the
respondents, particularly the Minister of Interior and the Controller
General of the NIS, had a duty to superintend the recruitment exercise
in a safe and healthy manner with due consideration to lives and well
being of those who applied for or participated in the exercise.
“An
order declaring that the Nigerian Immigration 2014 Recruitment Exercise
was carried out in a manner that was motivated by greed and corrupt
intentions and without any realistic plan to offer the applicants
employments.
“An order declaring that the respondents do not have
the power to appropriate any funds raised by them from the recruitment
exercise, even if not otherwise illegal, but must remit such funds to
the Federation Account”.
The applicants further want the court to
grant an order of interim injunction restraining the respondents from
spending any of the funds raised from the exercise and an order of
perpetual injunction restraining the respondents from spending any of
the funds raised from the recruitment exercise.
Likewise, to
direct the respondents to refund each applicant the sum of N1,000 which
he or she paid to participate in the recruitment exercise and also an
order directing the respondents to pay general damages in the amount of
N1m to each living applicant for the violation of their rights.
In
addition, they prayed the court to make an order directing the
respondents to issue a written apology to the applicants, which shall be
published in five Nigerian newspapers and on the main website by the
5th respondent and which shall remain posted on the said site for three
years in memory of those who died during the recruitment exercise. The
case has not been assigned to any judge for hearing.
Meanwhile,
Niger State government has said that the corpse of one of the
prospective applicants who died at the Minna centre during the
recruitment exercise stampede is yet to be claimed at the Minna General
hospital mortuary. The deceased has been identified as Ibrahim Isah
Mohammed.
Secretary to the Niger state government, Alhaji Isah
Ndako who made this known when Minister of State on Agriculture, Hajiya
Asabe Asmau Ahmed paid a condolence visit to the state also said that
the name of the other deceased identified to be a female could not be
ascertained because she was not registered at the hospital when she was
brought. He, however, said that steps have been taken by the state
government to locate the family for proper documentation.
Alhaji Ndako confirmed that a female and a male died in the stampede
while 14 people were injured, adding that from the official report sent
to the state government from office of the immigration in the state,
over 14,000 persons reported for the exercise.
Source:
Vanguardngr
