Anyaele Denies Claims That Tinubu Rehabilitated Him After Sierra Leone Attack

David Anyaele

The Chairman of the Abia State Disability Commission, David Anyaele, has refuted reports circulating online claiming that President Bola Tinubu rehabilitated him after he lost both hands during the Sierra Leone civil war in 1999.

In a statement shared on his Facebook page on Tuesday, Anyaele described the reports, especially those titled “Tinubu rehabilitated me after rebels cut off my hands”, as misleading and taken out of context.

He explained that upon his return from Sierra Leone, he had written to the then governors of the South-East states seeking financial support to procure artificial hands but received no response. However, when he wrote to then Governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu, his request was acknowledged and referred to a medical board for examination and recommendation.

“The board reviewed my request and recommended that the Lagos State Government should honour it. Unfortunately, that was where the matter ended. However, the response from then Governor Tinubu was a relief, unlike the silence from the South-East governors,” Anyaele said.

He further clarified that his first set of prosthetic hands was not provided by the Lagos State Government, but through funds raised by Mrs. Titi Adebayo, who organized a fundraising concert in Lagos with the support of several well-meaning Nigerians.

Anyaele said the clarification became necessary following misinterpretations of his remarks at the Nkata Umu Ibe event organised by the Centre for Memories in Enugu, where he spoke on the theme: “Onye Aghana Nwanne Ya: Advancing for a More Inclusive Ala Igbo.”

He expressed gratitude to Nigerians who supported his rehabilitation journey but stressed the importance of factual reporting, especially on issues of personal history and public record.