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  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.