‘We no longer receive our entitlements’, wounded soldiers cry out from hospital

Soldiers wounded while fighting Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State, North East have cried out saying they have been subjected to neglect and non-payment of their allowances by military authorities.

Speaking with journalists at 44 Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna, the complained bitterly that that apart from their salaries, they were yet to receive the special disability compensation they are entitled to.

Some further.pointed out that civilian patients were given preferential treatment at the 44 Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna to the injured soldiers, an that the military denied.

CAPITAL POST learnt that some officers whose injuries didn’t incapacitate them were retained in the service, but alledged that their entitlements have not been paid as well as their promotions denied.

Deputy Director, Public Relations of the 1 Division, Kaduna, Colonel Ezundu Idimah dismissed the allegations, insisting that wounded soldiers are. well catered for.

A paralysed military officer, who narrated how he was hit by insurgent’s bullet
in the North-East, said he had not received any disability compensation, but his salaries have been promptly paid.

He lamented that his dreams have been shattered now that he has been confined to a wheelchair, explaining that he will no longer be able to meet life expectations.

Though he is recovering, he still suffers from severe pains.

Another soldier, injured three months after his wedding during a training exercise when he was accidentally shot, said he had been in constant pain since the incident, and has been unable to function sexually.

After the incident, he was first treated for months in Maiduguri before being transferred to the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna, where he was treated for another four months.

“I feel a burning pain constantly in the injured leg, and when I walk, a nerve pain is triggered as if I were stepping on sharp nails,” he said.

The soldier now worries about the long-term effects of the injury, saying, “I limp on my left leg as a result of the injury, and it will be difficult for me to walk normally again.”

He said two of his complaint letters, written separately to the commanding officer of his unit, were turned down, but another one had been sent to the army headquarters.

Another soldier, whose hand has been deformed from a gunshot wound sustained in a confrontation with Boko Haram, said he too was recuperating but requires more medical attention.

He also said his compensation pay-out had still not been paid.