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Boko Haram: Wounded soldiers to be flown abroad for treatment
Seven of the Nigerian Army troops wounded-in-action in the war against Boko Haram insurgency in the North East would be flown abroad for advanced medical treatment.
The Nigerian in Lagos said on Monday.
The Acting Chief Medical Director, 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital Yaba, Brig.-Gen. Adekola Dada, disclosed this while speaking with journalists at the hospital in Lagos.
Dada said that the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, had approved the foreign medical trip for the troops to ensure wounded personnel got the best medical attention when the need arose.
“We have some wounded soldiers who have been referred abroad. As I speak to you, we have about seven approvals we just received.
“Those ones will be on their way to India in a few days for treatment. They were approved by the COAS and they were wounded in action,” he said.
Dada refuted an online report by an anonymous army captain who accused the Nigerian Army of neglect after he was injured in Maiduguri in 2014, saying there was nothing of such.
Dada maintained that the Nigeria Army had no such record of a neglected personnel as all wounded personnel have been adequately catered for.
“It beats my imagination that someone could put up such kind of allegation. As long as I can remember, every single personnel wounded in action have been taken care of.
“Sometimes, there are thousands of dollars involved in each person’s treatment.
“There are soldiers who were wounded whose cost of treatment runs into 25 to 40 thousand Dollars. If you compute that, then you will know the cost is enormous.
“If you combine that with the fact that any personnel who is going for medical treatment abroad must be accompanied with a medical escort who will also be taken care of by the system.
“Then you know how much is been done by the COAS. Of course you know that there is nothing you will do that you won’t find people who are not satisfied.
“If someone has an issue, he should be able to come out, tell his name and state his issue; not hide under an anonymous person and writing what is not true,” he said.
He also maintained that for every wounded personnel and depending on the degree of the injury, there was a process to be followed especially when there was need to be flown out for the Country.
“The process of referral for wounded personnel from the North-East is very fast.
“If there is a complicated issue with any personnel, he can equally be evacuated to Kaduna. Once he is evacuated to Kaduna, they do the needful and the paper works starts immediately.
“This process takes like five days or one week. Once that is done, the recommendation is sent to the office of the Chief of Army Staff who does the approval.
“I don’t remember anyone that was sent to him by the headquarters of the Nigerian Army medical Corps that he declined,” he said.
Dada who took journalists on a tour round the hospital facilities, also debunked claims by the anonymous Captain that there were many wounded troops languishing in the 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital.
He said that there was only one wounded soldier, Sergeant Ahmed Abdullahi, who had a fracture in his right tibia.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the patient who is personnel from a Battalion in Okitipupa, commended the Nigerian Army for giving him the needed facility to recuperate.
It was learnt that Abdullahi got injured while training and not as a result of injuries sustained in the North-East.
The Enugu State government has inaugurated a steering committee to eliminate Gender-Based Violence, GBV, in the state, declaring zero tolerance for the social malaise.
The inauguration took place at the Government House Enugu.
The panel, which is chaired by the Commissioner for Children, Gender Affairs and Social Development, Mrs. Ngozi Enih, draws its membership from the Nigeria Police Force, Ministry of Agriculture and Agro Industrialisation, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ministry of Human Development and Poverty Reduction, Ministry of Trade, Investment and Industry, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education as well as the Civil Society.
Inaugurating the panel known as the Steering Committee for Strengthening Institutional and Community Responses to End Gender-Based Violence/Domestication of Enugu State Gender Policy using the Oputa Panel approach, Governor Peter Mbah restated his administration’s commitment to not bringing perpetrators of GBV to book, but also putting in place proactive measures – activities, infrastructure, and systems in place to prevent them.
Mbah, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, said, “We take gender-based violence seriously. We have zero tolerance for it, and in Enugu State, we are ready to go the extra mile to deal with it.
“If you notice, the government has selected people that are very committed to this goal. This is not an activity where we just want to check-off the list. We will track this. We will monitor this, and we will have quarterly engagements on the successes that this particular committee has achieved in terms of reference that we are going to send.
“We will tighten those terms of reference indicators, so that we monitor what we are doing both in terms of cost input and the value added. It’s very important to us. Many people will be involved – civil society, the police and various ministries.”
He however, said that the effort was to protect everyone, men and women alike, as GBV was not restricted to any gender.
“The whole idea is to hold people responsible that are involved in matters relating to gender violence and deter people that by culture or by association get involved in that, protect women, protect our children, and in the case of violence against men, protect our men because most times we misconstrue gender violence to mean women, but it can also be men too.
“We encourage our men to speak out and to make sure they understand that the policy that Enugu State is soon going to domesticate is for everyone, and not only for the female gender,” he stated.
In her remark, Mrs. Enih, explained that the Oputa Panel approach was inspired by the need to cover all local peculiarities in domesticating the policy on GBV, restarting government’s confidence in the members of the panel.
“The approach we are going to use is the Oputa Panel approach, and in the Oputa Panel approach, we are going to tour the 17 Local Government Areas to get firsthand information about what our people are going through because policy is meant for the people, and a policy should suit the people.
“Again, every community has its peculiar problems, so that’s why the government decided that if we have to domesticate the gender policy, we have to hear from the people who own the policy and know the changes that they desire to see. That is the reason we are using this approach.
“The committee members are to also serve as judges. As we gather this information from our people, we will come back to tailor it in a way to suit the people of Enugu State, and then our policy is ready.
“We want the people to know that there is a gender policy for them. I can assure you that when the people are aware that there is such a policy, they will seek for the enforcement of that policy. So, this is not going to be one of those policies that will just lie on the shelf,” she said.
Digital solutions provider, Globacom, has congratulated Christians in Nigeria on this year’s Easter celebration, and urged them to emulate the noble qualities of Jesus Christ.
The company, in a goodwill message to the Christian faithful in the country, lauded their perseverance through the Lenten period which preceded Easter. It enjoined them to always promote the ideals of selflessness, love and peace among all as a way of demonstrating the virtues of the exemplary life of Jesus Christ.
“Peace, love and sacrifice are the central message of Easter. Christ offered himself in atonement for the sins of the world and he lived a life which made Him an eternal symbol of peace and goodwill for mankind”, Globacom added.
The company enjoined all Nigerians to share in the lessons of promoting selflessness, a necessary ingredient in the growth and development of every society. It also enjoined all Nigerians to join hands to make Nigeria a better place for all.
Easter is celebrated yearly at the end of the Lenten season of fasting and prayer considered as a ritual of purification for the Christian faithful. It also precedes the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ on Good Friday and His eventual resurrection on Easter Sunday.
The company assured its customers of seamless voice, data and Short Messaging Service (SMS) during and after the Easter celebrations, while urging them to avail themselves of the various data and voice offerings on the network.
The Guild of Private Broadcast Managers has extended its heartfelt congratulations to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) as it celebrates its 70th Anniversary.
In a congratulatory message signed by the Guild’s National President, Ambassador Patrick Uzoyi-Peters, JP MNGRM, the guild described the milestone as a testament to the NUJ’s unwavering commitment to upholding press freedom, journalistic integrity, and the advancement of democracy in Nigeria.
“For seven decades, the NUJ has played a pivotal role in shaping the media landscape, advocating for the rights and welfare of journalists, and ensuring that the voice of the people remains strong and unyielding. Your resilience, professionalism, and dedication to ethical journalism have been instrumental in fostering transparency, accountability, and national development”.
Celebrating this historic achievement, the Guild’s President, Uzoyi-Peters recognized the sacrifices and contributions of journalists across the nation who work tirelessly to inform, educate, and empower society.
The Guild reiterated it commitment towards collaborating with the NUJ in promoting responsible journalism and strengthening the media industry for the greater good.
While wishing the NUJ continued success, growth, and greater impact in the years ahead, President Uzoyi-Peters prayed that the anniversary serve as a renewed call to uphold the principles of truth, fairness, and press freedom in our collective pursuit of a more informed and just society.
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