Nigeria: Stampede in Abuja's stadium kills jobseekers

A stampede among jobseekers taking a recruitment test in the national stadium in the Nigerian capital Abuja has left many people dead and injured.

A journalist for French news agency AFP said he had counted seven corpses.

The stampede came during a recruitment exercise by the immigration department. Tens of thousands had turned up to take the test, according to reports.

There is a high level of unemployment in Nigeria especially among young people. In 2011, it stood at 23.9%.

Survivor Rosemary Ogida told AFP that she could remember being picked up by three men.

"I cannot even imagine the number of people that stamped on me," she said.

Similar scenes were recorded in scores of other venues across the country as the immigration service battled to conduct examinations for over 500,000 applicants.

The Event was eventually cancelled in some cities including lagos which lead to peaceful protests