The need for hospitals to urgently treat victims of gunshot injuries without first demanding a police report was emphasised in a recent media release by the National Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, and Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, NMCN. In December 2024, Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Ali Pate, had similarly issued a directive to that effect.

This reminder is very important, given the continued refusal of some hospitals and medical personnel to attend to such victims without the permission of police authorities, thus leading to avoidable loss of lives. Many hospitals and their medical staff are still trapped within the outdated Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act 1990, which mandated healthcare centres to immediately notify police authorities about their gunshot patients.

This law was wrongly implemented by police personnel, who often seized the opportunity to harass, intimidate and sometimes extort hospitals and their medical staff. The situation became so rampant that a new Act – Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Wounds, 2017 – was enacted. Failure of hospitals to comply with the new Act shows they still feel threatened by the rotten elements in law enforcement.

There are several reasons why immediate treatment of all gunshot victims must be prioritised before police involvement. Gunshot injuries are serious and often fatal. Victims must be immediately stabilised while the police are alerted. It is a fundamental, inalienable human right. Refusal to treat gunshot victims attracts a five-year jail term or a fine of N500,000, or both.

In any case, gunshot victims can be anybody. The knee-jerk assumption that they are suspected criminals holds no water. No law officer worth his or her training will meddle with the work of lifesavers in the name of law enforcement. Those who do so should be investigated for criminal intentions, no matter how highly-placed in the police hierarchy.

Doctors and nurses should also be constantly reminded that their primary professional obligation is to save lives or prevent avoidable deaths. Neglect of gunshot victims is unethical, wicked and unacceptable. Lives must be in the front burner alongside law enforcement.

Both medical professionals and police personnel cannot pretend not to know the position of the law and their professional obligations to respect the sanctity of life. Enough advocacy has been invested on it. It is time to stop barking and begin biting. Once the law is allowed to take its course on a few cases, everybody will sit up. Relevant arms of government should act now.

Also, the various associations and councils in the medical profession should step in and ensure that their members stay true to their calling. Such bodies exist to regulate their members and prevent their being pushed around by law enforcement agencies.

Gunshot victims must be treated while police are alerted.