THE Nigerian army has urged the public to disregard reports on the social media saying that Zakari Sani, the Captain that was injured in an ambush in Benue State, has been abandoned and was not being adequately taken care of.
According to the Defence Headquarters, Sani “was badly wounded” when he was “ambushed alongside other soldiers in Benue State while on operation whirl stroke”. The incident occurred on Tuesday, November 6.
Several reports on popular social media platforms claim that the army has refused to fly the wounded officer abroad for better medical treatment.
One of such messages posted on Twitter by a handle with the username ‘Diamond Heart Foundation’. It read: “I’m afraid we are in a wicked country! Those so-called leaders are in haste to fly to foreign hospitals for minor ailments. But here is a captain who faced enemies, sacrificing his life (and) family’s happiness for Nigerians, has been abandoned in one bangabanga hospital.”
The tweet, which was posted on Thursday, was shared alongside a graphic picture of someone, purported to be Captain Sani, whose stomach – torn open, down to the groin region – was badly sutured.
This is regardless of the fact that the army authorities had explained that Sani was receiving the best medical treatment available in the country and will be transferred abroad if it became necessary.
In a statement shortly after the incident, the Acting Director of Defence Information, John Agim, explained that right from the moment Sani was involved in the ambush in which he was wounded, the army has ensured that he got the best of care.
“The officer was badly wounded and was evacuated to Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi where he was initially stabilised and later evacuated to Ceda Crest Hospital in Abuja for higher management outside of the operations theatre,” Agim, a Brigadier General, stated.
“Ceda Crest Hospital is one of the best hospitals in the country as at today. The team of doctors and other medical staff including expatriate are attending to the officer whose situation though serious is getting better by the day.
“He has undergone several medical procedures which have helped to stabilise him further. The Chief of Defence Staff has placed Medical Surveillance on the officer for eventual medical evacuation outside the country.”
Agim further explained that in standard medical practice, foreign medical evacuation cannot happen without the consent of the doctor that is administering stabilisation treatment to the patient, “otherwise the intended objective may not be achieved when the patient is evacuated abroad”.
“If Captain Zakari (Sani) had been hurriedly taken out of the country without the stabilization treatment, according to the medical advice, the outcome may not be certain,’ he said.
“The general public is hereby informed that Captain Zakari Sani’s treatment is consciously administered for his best interest. He is to undergo some medical procedures after which, he will be stable for any other treatment abroad as necessary.
“Nigerian military takes the health of its personnel seriously and would do anything to sustain the health and vitality of all, in order to be fit to defend the territorial integrity of our great nation.”