Prince visits wounded army veterans
ON A three-day visit to Nigeria to promote his Invictus Games, Prince Harry yesterday played a seated volleyball match with army veterans, most of whom were wounded in battle against the country’s Islamist insurgency.
The Duke of Sussex arrived with his wife Meghan on Friday in the capital Abuja where they visited a school for an event on mental health in a trip that also saw the prince meet wounded Nigerian soldiers.
At an officers’ mess complex in Abuja, Harry’s team dressed in yellow played off in an exhibition against a team led by Nigeria’s chief of defence staff, the country’s top commander. The prince’s team took an early lead with players seated on foam mats, some missing legs. But they lost the match 25-21 to the commander’s squad, Team CDS.
Before visiting Nigeria, Harry was in London on Wednesday to mark the 10th anniversary of the games. As with all his trips to the UK since he moved to the US in 2020, his visit prompted renewed speculation over a reconciliation with his family. But he did not meet with his father, King Charles.
Harry, a former army captain who served as a helicopter pilot in Afghanistan, founded Invictus in 2014.
Since then the games have grown, promoting rehabilitation through sports.
He was invited to visit by Nigeria’s military command.
Nigeria’s military forces are battling armed groups on several fronts. A jihadist insurgency has killed more than 40000 people and displaced two million more since 2009. |