President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime says Nigerian soldiers critically injured in a gunfight with bandits will be flown abroad for plastic surgery.

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya, disclosed this while reiterating the Nigerian Army’s commitment to prompt and adequate attention to the medical needs of wounded troops at the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Kaduna.

The COAS gave the assurance when he visited wounded soldiers in the hospital on Thursday in Kaduna.

The Director of Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, said this in a statement.

The COAS expressed appreciation to the troops for their sacrifice to the nation, assuring that the Nigerian army was doing everything possible to provide them with adequate treatment to hasten their recovery.

He said the regime had concluded arrangements for soldiers that required medical treatment, especially those in need of plastic surgery and prosthetics, to be flown abroad.

According to him, arrangements are ongoing to build a state-of-the-art facility in the hospital to produce prosthetics for personnel who lost their lower limbs in service to the nation.

He said the ongoing effort was in partnership with some foreign experts from Germany, adding that it will hasten the provision of artificial body parts and save the army the huge cost of moving the personnel abroad for treatment.

“The delay being witnessed in actualising this partnership is as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

(NAN)