Former Golden Eaglets captain and Super Eagles midfielder, Wilson Oruma, has described as ‘sad’ a recent publication portraying him as sick and helpless. Last week, a national daily hit the newsstands with a bold headline, entitled, ‘Oruma: The travails of an Olympic medalist.’

According to the publication, a video clip showed that Oruma was lying helpless in an unidentified hospital on a drip, snoring on his sick bed and receiving treatment via urinary catheters.

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The report attracted comments from his former teammates, including Dosu Joseph and Sunday Oliseh. Speaking with The Guardian, yesterday, in Lagos, Oruma described the report as wicked and disturbing.

“In the first place, I am not in any hospital as reported by the newspaper. Those pictures displayed in that news report were images from four or five years ago. I am fine, and I don’t know why some Nigerians will wish me dead. It is so unfortunate.”

In June 2018, Oruma opened up for the first time in an interview with The Guardian in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on his travail in the hands of fraudsters, who duped him off about N2 billion when he wanted to establish a business concern after retiring from active football.

Oruma ‘walked’ into the hands of the fraudsters, who claimed to be in possession of some oil block they wanted to sell. He collapsed his investments across Europe and also withdrew his life savings to invest in the ‘oil business,’ not suspecting any foul play. The ‘business partners’ vanished with his money.

However, Oruma said he has since put that sad incident behind him. “Help me to tell Nigerians that I have put those sad moments behind me, and nobody should make me recall them. It is disheartening to receive calls from friends, relatives, and business associates enquiring if I am okay.

“My family is taking legal action against some of the media houses, including some radio and television stations. Some people need to pay for the consequences of their actions. It has to stop,” Oruma fumed.