On the 29th of October 2023, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) directed all medical facilities in the country, to henceforth accept gunshot victims and compulsorily treat them, regardless of whether or not they obtain Police Report. Before then, the Report, which is a form of clearance after investigation or inquiry, to certify that the gunshot victim is not a criminal and that the wound did not occur as a result of the victim’s participation in any organized crime or offensive operation, is required in all medical facilities in the country as a requirement to treat gunshot wounds.
Any medical facility which failed to obtain the clearance before treatment was prone to conspiracy charge, especially if investigation later revealed that the victim was a perpetrator of crime or that the wound was as a result of an offensive operation.
Police Report was aimed at preventing immediate medical care to fleeing armed robbers and other criminals who may have sustained bullet wounds from the police or other security agencies during criminal operations. It was expected that it would help to easily identify criminals and quickly bring them to book.
Therefore, before a gunshot victim went to the hospital, he must first visit the police for clearance. Regrettably, many innocent citizens and genuine gunshot victims whose lives might have been saved if there was timely medical intervention, lost their precious lives to this time wasting and avoidable administrative rigmarole.
It is as a result of this that concerned citizens, the civil society and human right groups made a relentless outcry to government that the needless requirement of police report before gunshot victims are treated should be completely removed, to pave way for a better strategy that would stop the unending loss of innocent gunshot victims, while not compromising the desired goal of early detection, arrest and prosecution of wounded criminals. Government responded to that outcry by promulgating the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshots Act 2017 (The Gunshot Act), which the IGP directed that hospitals should give full blown compliance.
But a cursory look at the Act will reveal that although it is good and necessary, it may not be sufficient, without more, to achieve its aim of compulsory treatment of gunshot victims and early detection and prosecution of crime by the police.
Firstly, Section 2 (2) of the Act, provides that every hospital shall give immediate and adequate treatment with or without initial monetary deposit. It is doubtful if a private hospital can treat a victim without any monetary deposit or assurance of getting payment after treatment.
The treatment of gunshot victims involves huge financial and human capital. Treatment depends largely on the extent of the wounds and impact. It requires proper planning, adequate personnel and special drugs. Where, for instance, there are bone fractures or damage to blood vessels or organs, medical intervention will require strenuous efforts to stop bleeding, remove the gun bullets, excise the surrounding tissues, promote healing of the wound and restore functionality through physiotherapy and adequate chemical substance.
As a result, it is recommended that One, government should provide, either directly or through foreign donor agencies, medical aid or special fund to hospitals, if immediate and adequate treatment of gunshot victims is to be achieved. Two, hospitals should be allowed to take monetary deposit if it is available. Three, gunshot victims and their families should be mandated to pay hospital bills, which may be regulated, after treatment. Four, government should grant tax exceptions to hospitals which offer pro bono medical services and Five, government should enforce compulsory health insurance to all citizens and ensure that insurance companies take up responsibility for the treatment of gunshot victims.
Secondly, there is need to remove the burden placed on the hospitals and their staff under the Gunshot Act. One, Section 3 provides that every hospital that receives a gunshot victim shall make a Report to the police within two hours. The Act made it an offence under Section 5 for any hospital or concerned doctor who fails to make the Report and made them liable to N100,000 fine or six months imprisonment or both. Two, Section 10 imposes on the hospitals, a duty to notify the relations of gunshot victims within 24 hours of becoming aware of the victim’s identity. Three, Section 12 also makes it an obligation for hospitals to keep adequate record of the treatment.
The obligation to make a Report to the police within two hours doesn’t seem to be reasonable or always possible. The hospital is expected to focus on the victims and get them back to life. Although the Act prescribes no exact means of communication, it is recommended that the police should set up a hot line through which communication with the hospitals can be seamless and fast.
On the duty to notify the relations of gunshot victims, it is recommended that the obligation should be placed on the person who assisted the victim to the hospital under Section 2 or the police after receiving a Report under Section 3. The hospitals should be left with the onerous duty of giving medical attention to the victims.
To cap it all, government should control the use and circulation of firearms in the society and stop the police practice of using AK 47 and other firearms to control traffic, which usually leads to incidences of accidental discharge. The brutal killing of Bolanle Raheem on Christmas day in 2022 by Drambi Vandi, a police officer in Ajah, is still in mind.
It is not certain if all hospitals or medical facilities, primary or tertiary, will be able to treat gunshot wounds. Therefore, it is suggested that government should designate special medical centers in every local government or state for treatment of gunshot injuries and equip them with adequate medical personnels and facilities capable of meeting the needs of such special centers. Government should also set up a medical aid scheme, with funds assessable to all or designated hospitals to treat gunshot victims. Finally, the Act should provide specific sections on how hospitals especially private, can recoup their bills after treating gunshot victims.