NIGERIAN LIVES MATTER!!!
INTRODUCTION:
Every Nigerian is entitled to medical care. Just recently, I heard the story of a young man who was shot by armed robbers that broke into his residence and was afterwards taken to the hospital in Ibadan by concerned friends who wanted his life to be saved but was unfortunately rejected by the hospital who claimed that the young man would not be treated unless his friends produce a police report. It is sad to say that this man eventually lost his life. It is on this note that we examine the law as regards to treatment of victims of gunshots in Nigeria.
Right to life:
Every Nigerian has the right to life as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Section 33 (1) “Every person has a right to life, and no one shall be deprived intentionally of his life, save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria.
It is the duty of Medical Practitioners to save lives including victims of gunshot. Section 1 of the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017 provides that “hospitals, whether private or public shall accept or receive for immediate and adequate treatment, with or without police clearance, any person with a gunshot wound”. Emphasis is place on the word immediate because it is believed that it is a case of an emergency and should be attended to in good time so as to save the life of the victim. It is however sad that a lot of Nigerian hospitals still do not have any regard for this particular law, thereby asking for a police report before treating victims of gunshots, which has led to loss of lives of friends and loved ones.
Some may say that most hospitals usually predict that the victim would not make it and thus hide under the guise of asking for a police report in order to prevent the victim from dying in the hospital. I must say that this statement is utterly wrong and a gross violation of the provisions of the Law that confers the right to life on every citizen of Nigeria (section 33 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria). The law provides that the victim be treated first before notifying the nearest police about the case within two hours of receiving the victim as opposed to the general believe that the victim produce a police report first before being treated. Section 3 (1) of the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017.
It is not right that hospitals prioritise police report over a victim’s life which is even in contradiction with the provisions of the law. The law states that any hospital or person who fails to perform his duty which then results in the unnecessary death of a victim of gunshot has committed an offence and would be punished under the Act. (Section 9, 11 of the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017). The head of the Hospital where the victim had lost his life as a result of this unnecessary carelessness would be prosecuted and even make a restitution that is equivalent to the loss sustained by the victim. (Section 13 & 14).
The question now is: how long do we keep losing our vibrant youths to the cold hands of death all in the guise of getting a police report even when the Law has provided that they should be treated even before the report comes in?
If the victim is suspected to be a criminal, the hospital can admit him first, then place a call to the police station to come over to the hospital to arrest the suspect after his treatment. But first, Nigerian lives matter!!!
