President visits hospitalised Nigerian soldier in Berlin

President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday in Berlin, Germany, visited a Nigerian military officer receiving treatment in a hospital, as he rounded off his three-day official visit to the country.

The officer, Brig.-Gen. Sani Aliyu, the Acting Commander of the 3 Division of the Nigerian Army, Jos, survived a ghastly road accident while on a duty tour in the North-East on March 8, 2016.

The head of Training and Operations of the Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Yusha’u Abubakar, who was in the same vehicle, was not as lucky as he died in the crash, which occurred along Maiduguri-Damaturu road.

A statement by Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, said Buhari, accompanied by his entourage, congratulated Aliyu for the progress he had made in his treatment at the hospital.

He gave a further assurance that his administration would continue to accord priority to the health and well being of service personnel.

According to the statement, doctors at the hospital told the president that Aliyu could barely move his head when he was stretchered in, with his entire body torn and broken in many parts.

“Now, he can move around with very little assistance,” the statement quoted the doctors as saying.

The statement added that Aliyu thanked the president for the visit, and assured that his spirit to serve the country remained unshaken.