Renewed Hope for Gunshots, Accident Victims

Despite the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act 2017 aimed at preventing needless deaths from gunshots and accidents, hospitals still reject victims. Wale Igbintade reports that the new directive from the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Pate, will help save lives of victims

The federal government recently again declared that both public and private healthcare facilities nationwide must attend to victims of gunshots with or without police clearance. The directive was contained in a statement issued by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare via its official X handle.

The statement titled ‘Non-Compliance of Medical Facilities on The Gunshot Act 2017,’ signed by the Director of Information, Patricia Deworitshe, said the ministry had received complaints about the rejection of gunshot victims by hospitals nationwide, which had resulted in the loss of lives.

It also said the order is on the directive of the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Minister, Professor Muhammad Pate.

“In recent times, society has witnessed a rise in the loss of lives as a result of the refusal of some health facilities to attend to gunshot victims of chance who do not present police reports,” it said.

According to the statement, gunshot victims come under emergencies that require urgent medical attention to save the lives of patients or victims.

“It has come to the knowledge of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of the slow or non-compliance by most medical facilities to provide for the compulsory treatment and care for victims of gunshots and related matters.

 “The Act goes further to stipulate that every hospital in Nigeria, whether private, shall accept or receive immediate and adequate treatment with or without police clearance.

“Every person, including security agents, shall render every possible assistance to any person with gunshot wounds and ensure that the person is taken to the nearest hospital for immediate treatment,” it said.

The ministry said it is concerned about the spate of gunshot incidents and the refusal of some health facilities to administer and care for victims or patients without police reports.

“The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare Minister, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, therefore calls on all medical practitioners to comply with this national law by providing prompt treatment and care for these victims to prevent death,” it said, adding that strategies are being put in place by the ministry to ensure compliance to the Act by Nigerian healthcare facilities.

It also urged the Nigerian police to comply with and enforce the provisions of the compulsory treatment and care of victims of gunshot in line with Act 2017 with promptness.

Despite efforts by the federal government to address the issue of people dying unnecessarily from gunshot and accidents by enacting the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act 2017, reports across the country have shown that victims are still being rejected by hospitals.

The situation has become so bad that accident victims are sometimes rejected and denied treatment when they are rushed to the hospitals by good Samaritans.

 Recall that in 2023, there was outrage over the death of a community developer and member of the Young African Leaders Initiative Network (YALI), Greatness Olorunfemi, who was said to have been rejected at the Maitama General Hospital, in Abuja, which allegedly denied her treatment for not providing a police report.

Witnesses revealed that Olorunfemi was pushed out of a fast-moving vehicle, popularly called ‘one chance’ along the Maitama-Kubwa highway by hoodlums who reportedly robbed her on September 26. It was alleged that due to the severe injuries she sustained, the Maitama General Hospital in Abuja refused to grant her medical attention due to the absence of a police report. The hospital, however, denied the allegations, claiming that the deceased was brought in dead. 

Before the signing of the law by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2017, the misinterpretation of the provision of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provision) Act, Cap 398 of 1984 had led to the untimely death of several innocent Nigerians due to gunshots and accidents.

Part of the Act states: “It shall be the duty of any person, hospital or clinic that admits, treats or administers drugs to any person suspected of having bullet wounds to immediately report the matter to the police. It shall be an offence, punishable under this Act for any person to knowingly house, shelter, or give quarters to any person who has committed an offence under Section (2) of this Act.” 

Cases of unwarranted deaths were so incessant before the enactment of the relevant legislation, that the then Inspector-General of Police (IG), Solomon Arase, had to re-issue a statement in 2015, charging his officers and men not to harass Nigerians and good Samaritans in this regard.

Arase, also former the Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), also reminded doctors that they were “equally duty-bound to treat victims’ wounds and further inform police of relevant facts.”

 But this appeal has severally fallen into deaf ears

In order to ensure full compliance with the Act, the Inspector General of Police (IG), Kayode Egbetokun, in 2023 directed all medical practitioners and facilities in the country to provide prompt treatment to all victims of gunshots and accidents, irrespective of the presence of a police report.

Apart from the constitution, The National Health Act 2014 made a provision for this. Section 20 states partly: “A health care provider, health worker or health establishment shall not refuse a person on emergency medical treatment for any reason. An offender is liable to a fine of N100,000, a jail term of six months or both upon conviction.”

The Act also imposes on every citizen a civic duty to render every possible assistance to any person with gunshot wounds by ensuring that the person is taken to the nearest hospital for immediate treatment. It also mandates all medical facilities to receive and accept victims of a gunshot for immediate treatment without a police report.

As soon as the president signed the law, the then Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, emphasised what was expected of doctors in emergencies at an event: “Hospitals are a sanctuary for the sick and injured… Doctors must show no restraint in treating emergencies, even with gunshot wounds; you must treat them and thereafter raise questions. You must also treat emergencies before asking for money because life is more precious than money.”

Understandably, gunshot injuries might fuel suspicion, but hospitals need to provide treatment first because even a criminal has to be alive to face justice.

Unfortunately, while the police have continued to ignore this charge, hospitals have also continued the practice of rejecting victims. The logical question to ask is: Are all the relevant stakeholders not expected to comply with this Act to save Nigerians from avoidable deaths? What have been the sanctions meted out to violators of this Act?