Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun
Eko Hot Blog reports that the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, has ordered police officers to comply with an existing law allowing the compulsory treatment of gunshot victims without a police report.
The order is contained in a police internal memo signed by the Force Principal Staff Officer, Olatunji Disu, during the week.
The memo, titled RE: COMPULSORY TREATMENT AND CARE FOR VICTIMS OF GUNSHOT ACT 2017, and dated October 25, 2023, was addressed 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.
Disu disclosed that the directive was necessitated by a letter received from Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare on the subject of the treatment of gunshot victims.
According to the memo, Egbetokun’s directive was in line with the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act 2017.
The Act, which came into effect on the eve of 2018, mandates all health facilities to accept victims of gunshot for immediate treatment without a police report.
“I forward herewith a copy of letter HMSH&SW/IG/CTCV/ 10/2023 dated 3rd October 2023 received from Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare on the above-underlined subject, and write to convey the directive of the Inspector-General of Police that you comply with and enforce the provisions of the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act 2017 without any hesitation,” the memo reads.
“The Inspector-General of Police further directs that you make this a subject of lecture and circulate widely for the members of the public to be aware of our compliance with the National Law.”
Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Tunji Alausa
The attached letter from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Minister of State, Tunji Alausa, had called the police IG’s attention to the low compliance with the provision of the law which he attributed to poor awareness among policemen and sympathizers who may fear being implicated.
The intervention came a few weeks after a robbery victim, Greatness Olorunfemi, died after medical personnel at Maitama General Hospital allegedly refused to attend to her for lack of a police report.
An X user, @Gbemilekhe, who shared the story, claimed that the hospital in the Maitama area of Abuja asked for a police report before treatment could commence, noting that Miss Olorunfemi sadly passed away moments later.
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