#NISstampede: Tears flow, mother collapses, as another victim is buried

As another victim is committed to mother earth, the nation is again reminded of the tragedy which occurred during the employment process of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS).

The recruitment exercise, which was held nationwide, claimed the lives of at least 16 people, including that of Sunday Okezie Kalu, am indigene of Abia.

The deceased was one of the 5 people who died during the stampede at the Elekahia Stadium in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers.


Kalu, a graduate of Microbiology, was buried amidst tears and mourning in his hometown of Okon-Aku in the Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia.

Nigerian Eye reports:

His body left Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital (BMSH) at 6am and was received by his parents, relatives and youths about noon.

A white ambulance carrying Kalu’s remains was escorted to his hometown by his weeping friends, who handed the body to Ohafia youths. They took it round the community.

When the body got to his family home, the late Kalu’s 48-year-old mother, Mrs. Justina Okezie Kalu, who had collapsed and was hospitalised for days on hearing of her son’s death, went into a coma and almost died. His father was speechless. He watched his son’s body, as it was brought out of the ambulance. His legs were trembling and his head was bowed.

The people at the funeral rejected a condolence message by the State Command of NIS. The victim’s relatives said it should not be read, as it was unnecessary.

The deceased’s father, a 55-year-old security guard with the Abia State Primary School Board, said nobody should blame his son for attending the recruitment, but the organisers, who toyed with people’s lives.