The recent disaster occasioned by the Immigration Services Recruitment exercise nation-wide, in which scores of applicants lost their lives, has not been laid to rest. A number of Nigerian Civil Rights leaders and lawyers are insisting that the Government compels the Immigration Services to refund the applicants' money. The sum of N1,000 was paid by about 700,000 applicants for only 4,000 positions, while their safety was largely compromised.
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The President, TUC, Mr. Bobboi Kaigama, has asked for the refund of the money.
He said, “Since government has cancelled the exercise, it should refund the money to the applicants.”
Also, two prominent lawyers, Mr. Rotimi Jacob (SAN) and Mr. Festus Keyamo, insisted the refund.
The two Economic and Financial Crimes Commission lawyers questioned the propriety of collecting money from job seekers.
Jacobs said, “It would be unfair to retain their money and cancel the recruitment exercise. Is it not abnormal to ask young graduates to pay money before they can apply for jobs? They should not be collecting money from them in the first place.
“It is like the strong in the society victimising the weak – the rich are collecting money from the poor. That is very unfair. They should refund the money.”
Kayamo described the collection of the application fees as ‘advance fee fraud.’
He said, “It was tantamount to stealing from job seekers. They must return the money to them. What happened amounted to stealing, it is nothing but advance fee fraud.”
But Prof. Itse Sagay noted that it was not necessary to refund the fees.
In a telephone interview with one of our correspondents, he said, “I don’t think that (refund of application fees) is an important aspect.
“If I were the President, I would recover the money from the immigration service and plough it back into youth employment and things that could better the lives of the youth, so that at the end of the day, the youth will not lose out.”
Similarly, the All Progressives Congress on Saturday said Moro and the consultants should account for the money collected from job seekers.
Lai Mohammed said that it was possible that neither the NIS nor its Comptroller-General, David Paradang, could account for the N1,000 collected from the job seekers because they did not collect the money.
Mohammed said “That is probably because the money is not with them. Only the minister and the consultant, we are informed, were responsible, and they both should be held responsible for the refund unless the money was paid into Immigration account.”
Also, the Executive Secretary, Anti-Corruption Network and former member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dino Melaye, described the exercise as a complete fraud.
A legal practitioner, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, equally said the money should be returned with interest and “additional hazard allowance of N50,000.”
For the Executive Director of Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, Dr. Abiola Akiode-Afolabi, “The cancellation without refund amounts to defrauding innocent citizens, it is condemnable.”
Another legal practitioner, Mr. Ebun Olu-Adegboruwa, said, “It is sad that helpless and innocent Nigerians have to die, for the sake of seeking employment.” (culled from Punch).
- SHAME ON YOU...NIGERIA.
- THERE IS NO BETTER DEFINITION OF 419. WE HAVE SEEN IT ALL BEFORE. THOSE 4,000 POSITIONS WERE ALREADY RESERVED FOR CANDIDATES OF SENATORS, GOVERNORS, AND MINISTERS. IT WAS ALL A BLOODY WASTE OF TIME AND ENERGY.
- DATS WHY DEM NO GIVE A 4UK ABOUT THEIR LIVES...EVEN D SO-CALLED STADIUMS NO GET 'HEALTH & SAFETY CERTIFICATE'. HOW RECKLESS CAN A GOVERNMENT BE???
- UNA NO DEY SEE WETTIN OYINBO PEOPLE DEY DO??? AND YET UNA GO DEY WASTE AWA MONEY DEY DO FOREIGN VISITS ALL D TIME. WETTIN UNA DEY LEARN FROM THERE??? MUMU LEADERS.
- UNA NO FIT PROVIDE JOB FOR UNA JOBLESS POPULATION, AND YET UNA DEY CHOP MONEY FROM DEM!!!
- NEVER HAVE SO FEW OWED SO MUCH TO SO MANY...only in 4ukin Nigeria.
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