The Nigerian Army has denied the allegation by one of its wounded soldiers, Lance Cpl. Itodo David, that he had been abandoned at the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital (NARHK) Kaduna.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Maj.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, made the rebuttal in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.
Nwachukwu said the army received the allegation with utmost concern the very touching and pathetic story of the soldier as narrated in a trending audio visual circulating in the social media.
He said the narration portrayed that the soldier had sustained an injury while on a combat operation and has been left in a state of abandonment and neglect since the incident.
According to him, though it is not untrue that Itodo had suffered a gunshot injury back in 2015, it was successfully managed at the same 44 NARHK and was fully restored to active life.
“Disturbing as Itodo’s current situation is, the narration did not, however, give a true picture of what transpired.
“He failed to acknowledge the untiring effort of the Nigerian army to provide medical and psychological support for the healing of the soldier and several other ailing personnel who had received medical intervention both within and outside the country.
“Lance Cpl Itodo David , a 33 year old male soldier is currently admitted in 44 NARHK following a complete spinal cord injury sustained four years ago, when he was knocked down by a fast moving vehicle while riding his motorbike at Abia State on Sept. 7, 2020.
“He was then resuscitated at the Federal Medical Centre Owerri before he was evacuated to 82 Division Medical Services and Hospital (DMSH) Enugu.
“He was subsequently referred on three months post injury with Quadriplegia (paralysis of both arms and legs), muscle atrophy (loss of muscle mass) and multiple pressure sores over the occiput, arms and the gluteal region as well as fracture and displacement of the cervical vertebra,” he said.
Nwachukwu said that the Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) revealed complete spinal cord transection injury.
He said the current situation, as revealed in the medical evaluation, indicated that Itodo’s inability to walk was permanent, which had been adequately explained to the soldier.
This finding, according to Nwachukwu, was corroborated by medical experts both within and outside the shores of the country, who conducted both physical and remote medical reviews of his condition.
He added that several medical interventions had been made to ameliorate his condition and had been placed on physiotherapy to improve his muscle tone, while the pressure sores were continuously dressed and managed and had also been regularly attended to by psychologists.
“The soldier has thus been on Conservative management in the hospital and not abandoned as wrongly portrayed in the video.
“The leadership of the Nigerian army genuinely empathizes with the personnel and wishes that it could do more to bring the soldier back to his feet in the face of a medically feasible opportunity,” he added.
