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.

Maj.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, the Director of Army Public Relations, made the rebuttal in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

Nwachukwu said the army received the allegation with utmost concern, the soldier's very touching and pathetic story was narrated in a trending audio-visual circulating in social media.

He said the narration portrayed that the soldier had sustained an injury while on a combat operation and had been left in a state of abandonment and neglect since the incident.

According to him, though it is not untrue that Itodo 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 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 a 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.

According to Nwachukwu, this finding was corroborated by medical experts both within and outside the country's shores, who conducted 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. At the same time, 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,”