Military vows to get best medical treatment for personnel wounded in action

Every effort will be made to get the best medical attention for military personnel who were wounded in the cause of ongoing special operation to rid the country of terrorist activities.


Making the declaration in Maiduguri on Thursday while presenting cheques to families of some of the personnel who died during the operation, the Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola Sa'ad Ibrahim, said the military authorities was prepared to go to any extent to secure necessary treatment for the personnel who incurred varying degrees of injury during the operation. He also said the dead ones would not die in vain as they were involved in the pursuit of a just cause to secure the lives and property of fellow citizens.

Conducting the presentation in company of the Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Abubakar, the CDS noted that the collective efforts of all the troops participating in the operation had resulted in the relative peace being enjoyed in the area of operation. He said the entire armed forces and all security agencies in the country were proud of the achievements of the troops.

In a subsequent address to the troops, Admiral Ibrahim conveyed to them, the greetings and commendation of the President, Commander in Chief, of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, whom he said was very keen to know how the troops were faring. He praised the troops for their effort in reversing the traumatic experience which the people went through as result of terrorists activities. The CDS urged the troops to maintain their alertness and fighting spirit. He then assured them that their welfare and logistics requirements would continue to get priority attention.

The CDS and the Inspector General of Police also visited some of the wounded soldiers and security personnel at the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital. Receiving security chiefs on a courtesy call on the Management of the hospital , on behalf of the Chief Medical Director, Dr Mohammed commended the military authorities for the attention they have been demonstrating for the care of the wounded troops . He said the hospital had derived a lot of encouragement from the disposition of the military leadership. He also praised the security personnel for their commitment and sacrifices towards the restoration of peace in the state.

He assured that the reputation of the hospital as a centre of excellence would be brought to bare in the management of the conditions of the personnel. Earlier, the CDS expressed appreciation to the hospital for the care being accorded the wounded personnel. He said the security agencies were committed to checking the menace of terrorism to ensure that every Nigerian goes about their activities without fear or let. Accompanied by senior officers of various security agencies involved in the operation, the CDS and IGP were comprehensively briefed behind closed doors at the Headquarters of the Joint Task Force. In his own remarks, the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar harped on the need to sustain the inter service coordination in the operation. They later departed for Abuja aboard a Nigerian Air Force jet.


CHRIS OLUKOLADE

Brigadier General

Director Defence Information