Prince Harry lost against the Nigeria Army Chief's squad in a volleyball match

Prince Harry played seated volleyball with army veterans on Saturday during his three-day tour to Nigeria to promote his Invictus Games. The warriors were mostly injured during their fight against the Islamist insurgency in Nigeria.

The Duke of Sussex and his spouse, Meghan, touched down in Abuja on Friday. During their visit, the couple not only saw wounded Nigerian soldiers in the northwest but also went to a school for a mental health program.

Harry’s yellow-clad squad competed in an exhibition match against a squad led by Nigeria’s highest commander, the chief of staff, at an officer’s mess complex in Abuja.

The prince’s squad, consisting of players sitting on foam mattresses with some lacking legs, seized an early lead with chants of “Team Harry, Team Harry” after they scored.

However, they were defeated by Team CDS, the commander’s squad, 25–21.

Peacemaker Azuegbulam, a former soldier from Nigeria who lost his leg in war in the northeast and became the first African to win gold at the Invictus Games in Germany last year, was a member of the Duke’s team.

Before the game, he told AFP, “Having Prince Harry over is an honor for Nigeria and for Africa.”

Prince Harry was in London on Wednesday to commemorate the games’ tenth anniversary, prior to Nigeria.

Like all of his visits to the UK since moving to the US in 2020, his return sparked fresh rumors about a potential reunion with his family. However, he did not get to see King Charles, his father.

Invictus was formed in 2014 by Harry, a former army captain who flew helicopters in Afghanistan. Since then, the games have expanded, encouraging sports-based rehabilitation.

The military leadership of Nigeria invited him to come. General Christopher Musa, the Chief of Defense Staff, has lauded Nigerian troops’ performance at the Invictus Games.

Harry left without his spouse on Friday to visit a military hospital and talk with soldiers who had been injured in action in Kaduna, northwest Nigeria.

The pair is scheduled to visit Lagos, the nation’s financial hub, on Sunday to participate in a basketball competition and a fundraising event.

Nigeria’s armed forces are engaged in multifaceted combat with armed groups.

Since 2009, a relentless insurgency by jihadists in the northeast has claimed over 40,000 lives and forced another two million to flee their homes.

Strongly armed criminal groups known as “bandits” in the area execute large-scale kidnappings for ransom and attack towns from camps tucked away in isolated forests in the northwest and central states.

AFP