Nigerian army denies alleged abandonment of wounded Soldier

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. (NAN)

Church member I accommodated in my house defiled my Daughter – Man cries out

A man (name withheld) on Thursday narrated before an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court how a man, Blessing Adetula, allegedly defiled his nine-year-old daughter.

Adetula is standing trial on a count charge of sexual assault by penetration.

At the resumed hearing, the witness was led in evidence by the state counsel, Mr Babajide Boye.

He told the court that the defendant was his church member who he accommodated in his house.

“I know him from church.

“I accommodated him in my house because the work he was doing was close to my house.

“He could not go to work everyday from his own house,” the witness said.

The witness said that his daughter was nine at the time of the incident, adding that he has three children, two boys and a girl.

He revealed that the alleged incident happened on his wife’s birthday.

The witness said: “I was at work but my wife was at home because it was her birthday.

“My wife left home very early to Ikotun market to get something, before she came back, something happened.

“My wife over heard my daughter telling one of her brothers to tell their mother what happened.

“My daughter later confessed to her mother that Adetula inserted his manhood into her vagina.”

The witness told the court that he instructed his wife to report the case to the police

“The police took my daughter to Mirabel Medical Centre in Ikeja and ran some tests on her,” he said.

Justice Rahman Oshodi, after listening to the witness, adjourned the case until March 12 for cross-examination.

The prosecution alleged that the defendant committed the offence on March 8, 2020, at Raji Street, at Egbe Ikotun, Lagos.

According to the prosecution, the alleged offence contravene Section 261 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015. (NAN)

REVEALED; Why notable Businessmen like Dangote, others are avoiding Peter Obi in public

Moses Paul, an aide to Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, has revealed why some of Obi’s former associates in the banking and business sectors are now shying away from him in public.

In an interview with Rudolf Okonkwo on ’90MinutesAfrica’, Paul explained that the fear of backlash from President Bola Tinubu’s administration is causing Obi’s former business and banking colleagues to distance themselves from him.

Paul recounted a recent encounter in Kigali, Rwanda, where prominent Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote, along with other business figures, deliberately avoided Obi during a public event.

He said: “There was an occasion when I travelled to Rwanda with Mr. Peter Obi. Alhaji Aliko Dangote was in Kigali to hold a conference alongside lots of top Nigerian businessmen and bankers.

“You will not believe that people who were friends with Peter Obi in the banking sector were dodging and avoiding being seen with him because of fear of retribution from the Tinubu government against them or their businesses.

“It’s shocking that in the 21st century, people are afraid to be seen with an opposition leader because of fear of what the government of the day will do. This shouldn’t be coming from a country like Nigeria that is the only future of the black man on the face of the earth.”