IG Orders Treatment of Gunshot Victims Without Police Report  

The acting Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, has said that a police report is no longer required before a victim of gunshot is treated in any health facility in the country.

This is according to a police internal memo dated October 25, 2023, which was signed by the Force Principal Staff Officer, Olatunji Disu.

The IG’s instruction, which is in line with the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act 2017, was sent to all Deputy Inspectors-General of Police, Assistant Inspectors-General of Police, Commissioners of Police and the Commandants of Police Colleges in Ikeja, Kaduna, Oji-River, Maiduguri and Enugu.

The Act came into effect in 2018, mandating all health facilities to treat victims of gunshot immediately without police report.

The Minister of State, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Olatunji Alausa, in an attached letter informed the IG about the low level of compliance to the Act by policemen and members of the public who could serve as first responders.