Gunshot: Police Report Not A Necessity To Treat Victims
The Lagos State Police Command has asked medical doctors to stop requesting a police report before treating gunshot victims. The Police Public Relations Officer in Lagos State, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, made this known in a tweet on his Twitter handle @benhundeyin. He urged medical doctors to provide immediate medical attention to such victims before notifying the police.
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According to the Compulsory Treatment and Care of Victims of Gunshots Act, any hospital in Nigeria, whether public or private shall receive and accept for immediate treatment anyone with a gunshot wound.
The act also states that a person with a wounded by a gun should be given adequate treatment without an initial monetary deposit and a person with a gunshot wound shall not be subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment or torture by any person or authority including the police or other security agencies.
In his Tweet, Hundeyin said “I am shocked to learn that a few doctors still request police report before treating gunshot victims. Kindly provide immediate medical attention as stipulated by medical ethics. Then notify the police accordingly. One of our core mandates remain: protection of life.”
