Compulsory treatment of gunshot victims

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has directed medical personnel across the country to treat gunshot victims without requesting for police report.  The directive was contained in a police internal memo dated October 25, 2023, and signed by the Force Principal Staff Officer, Olatunji Disu, and addressed to all the hierarchies of police leadership in the country. The IGP also enjoined them to enforce the provisions of the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act 2017 without any hesitation.

The Act mandates all medical facilities to receive and accept victims of gunshots for immediate treatment without a police report. Hitherto, hospitals and other healthcare centres have shunned the treatment of gunshot victims without a police report. The low level of compliance to the Act by policemen and members of the public who often serve as first responders and “Samaritans” has led to avoidable deaths.

 The rising loss of lives due to the refusal of health care workers to treat gunshot victims without a police report has been worrisome.  Arising from the observed breach of the 2017 Act, which was signed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari, the new directive urging police leaders to make the content of the memo a “subject of lecture” across their formations and commands is commendable and reassuring.

The inclination to deny the gunshot victims treatment is partly caused by the continuous observance of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Law (1990), which states that it shall be the duty of any person, hospital or clinic that admits, treats, or administers any drug to any person suspected of having bullet wounds to immediately report to the police.

The law states that anyone who contravenes it will be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years; and in the case of a hospital or clinic, to a fine of N10,000 while the hospital or clinic would be closed.  The law was passed when the nation was under severe armed robbery attacks.

The draconian law is not in sync with modern developments. It has led to more deaths as innocent victims of gunshot wounds were denied treatment for not providing police report. Besides, it has not led to any significant drop in armed robbery cases. This is not the first time that the police would issue order for treatment of gunshot victims without police report.

In 2009, a similar directive to medical facilities by the then Inspector General of Police, Ogbonna Onovo, was ignored apparently because it was not backed by law.  There was also the National Health Act of 2014 which  states that “ a health  care provider, health worker, or health establishment shall not refuse a person emergency medical treatment for any reason, and any one that goes against the law is liable to a fine of  N100,000, a jail term of six months or both, upon conviction.

Despite all these laws, nothing seems to have changed. The police are largely held responsible for this contempt of the law. They often deliberately feign ignorance of the existence of these laws and clampdown on hospitals and doctors for treating gunshot victims. Only recently, a woman, Greatness Olorunfemi, a victim of “one chance” operators regrettably died at a public hospital in Abuja where she was allegedly denied treatment for not providing police report.

Sadly, many Nigerians might have died for not providing the police report. The police should carry out vigorous enlightenment campaign on the need to treat gunshot victims without police report. Also, police personnel should stop arresting health officials who treat gunshot victims without police report. The molestation of good Nigerians who bring victims of gunshot to hospitals must be stopped.

Gunshot injury is a medical emergency and every second counts in the bid to save the life of the victim. A minute lost can be detrimental to the victim’s survival. The government should further sensitise Nigerians on the compulsory treatment of gunshot victims without police report using print and electronic media.

We applaud the governments of Ekiti and Kogi states for ordering all hospitals in their states to immediately comply with the IGP directive on compulsory treatment of gunshot victims without police report. We urge other state governments to follow suit. It is also worth pointing out that not all gunshot victims are criminals. All victims of gunshot wounds should have access to urgent medical attention.

 For the new directive to succeed, the police should assure health workers that they will not be arrested for treating gunshot victims without police report.