Know The Law: Gunshot victims entitled to prompt treatment without police report

Policeman

In December 2017, then President Muhammadu Buhari signed an important legislation for the compulsory medical treatment of victims of gunshot injuries without police report or clearance.

The legislation titled: ‘Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshots Act, 2017’, was initiated to prevent the deaths of gunshot victims.

Before the legislation, hospitals demanded police reports as a requirement for treating affected persons.The idea of the police report requirement stemmed from the misinterpretation of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act 1990 — a law enacted due to the rising cases of armed robbery in the country.The 1990 law did not explicitly stipulate the police report requirement. The law only asked that the hospital should immediately report persons with gunshot wounds to law enforcement.

The requirement deterred many hospitals from treating or admitting persons with gunshot wounds — leading to the passing of many.

In May 2018, Adebayo Akinwunmi, an engineer, was shot by armed robbers at his residence in Orimerunmu, Obafemi Owode LGA of Ogun state.

Akinwunmi’s family alleged that the engineer died because the hospital rejected him due to lack of a police report.

In June 2021, Ebenezer Ayeni, a music producer, died of gunshot wounds after some hospitals reportedly refused to treat him over failure to produce a police report.

The 30-year-old was shot by armed robbers who invaded his residence in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

Medical practitioners had argued that they demand police report for gunshot wounds to avoid the constant harassment and victimisation from police officers, and in some cases, detention. Thecable