During a three-day visit to Nigeria to promote his Invictus Games, Prince Harry engaged in a seated volleyball match with army veterans, many of whom were wounded in battle against the country’s Islamist insurgency.
The Duke of Sussex, accompanied by his wife Meghan, arrived in the capital Abuja on Friday. They visited a school for an event on mental health, and the prince also met with wounded Nigerian soldiers in the northwest.
At an officer’s mess complex in Abuja, Harry’s team, dressed in yellow, participated in an exhibition match against a team led by Nigeria’s chief of defence staff, the country’s top commander.
Amid chants of “Team Harry, Team Harry” whenever they scored, the prince’s team initially took the lead, with players seated on foam mats, some of whom were missing legs. However, they ultimately lost the match 25-21 to the commander’s squad, known as Team CDS.
Among those on the Duke’s team was former Nigerian soldier Peacemaker Azuegbulam, who lost his leg in combat in the northeast. He made history as the first African to win gold at the Invictus Games in Germany last year.
“It’s an honour for Nigeria and for Africa to have Prince Harry over,” he told AFP before the match.
Prior to visiting Nigeria, Prince Harry was in London on Wednesday to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the games.
As with all his trips to the UK since relocating to the United States in 2020, his visit stirred speculation regarding a reconciliation with his family. However, he did not have a meeting with his father, King Charles.
Harry, a former army captain who served as a helicopter pilot in Afghanistan, established Invictus in 2014. Since then, the games have expanded, advocating for rehabilitation through sports.
He received an invitation to visit from Nigeria’s military command. General Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defence Staff, commended the experience of Nigerian troops at the Invictus Games.
On Friday, Harry traveled to Kaduna in Nigeria’s northwest without his wife. There, he visited a military hospital and conversed with troops wounded in combat.
On Sunday, the couple will journey to Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital, to participate in a basketball event and a fundraising activity.
Nigeria’s military forces are currently engaged in conflicts on multiple fronts. A protracted jihadist insurgency in the northeast has resulted in over 40,000 fatalities and displaced approximately two million individuals since 2009.
In northwestern and central states, heavily armed criminal groups known as bandits conduct widespread kidnappings for ransom and carry out village raids from camps hidden deep within remote forests.
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