Reps move to enforce treatment for victims of armed attack

Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The House of Representatives, on Thursday, passed for second reading a bill seeking to amend the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshots Act 2017, to ensure treatment for victims of other armed attacks, without police report.

The proposed legislation, which is sponsored by Wale Raji, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Lagos State, if eventually passed into law will compel public and private hospitals to treat victims of armed attacks, other than firearms, without demanding for a police report.

Raji, in his lead debate, said the amendment of the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshots Act 2017, is necessary so as to ensure that victims of all forms of armed attacks are able to access treatment in both public and private hospitals, whether or not they have police clearance.

According to him, “Originally, the crux of the compulsory treatment and care for victims of gunshots Act, 2017 is to permit both public and private hospitals accept and provide immediate treatment for victims with gun/firearms injuries with or without a police clearance.”

“However, due to the restricted coverage of this act, many innocent victims of other dangerous weapons other than firearms have consistently being rejected by the hospitals for want of a police clearance, which has led to their untimely death.”

The lawmaker added that the “intent of the extant law as it is today, is to the effect that an innocent victim, who sustained a grievous bodily injury from a weapon other than gun/firearm, will be deprived medical attention if he/she is without a police clearance. This outrageous act of the hospitals leading to the death of innocent victims indirectly constitutes a deprivation of their right to be alive.

“The fulcrum of this amendment is to preserve the lives of innocent victims who have suffered injuries from attacks other than gun/firearms injuries and in urgent need of medical attention. The law as it is today is not in favour of victims of attacks not related with firearms and hence there is urgent need for this hallow chamber to widen the scope of the extent law’s application.

“This amendment will be a great relief to innocent victims of non-firearms attack without a police clearance and also creates a statutory protection from prosecution for hospitals engaging in the protection of such lives.”