The Nigerian Medical Association has affirmed its commitment to following the directive of the acting Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, which states that medical professionals should provide treatment to gunshot victims without the requirement of a police report.
According to The PUNCH, the NMA emphasized that prior to this directive, medical doctors in the country have consistently attended to emergency cases without the need for a police report.
The directive from the IGP is in accordance with the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017.
This directive was conveyed in an internal police memo dated October 25, 2023, and was signed by the Force Principal Staff Officer, Olatunji Disu.
The memo was addressed to various ranks within the police hierarchy, including 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.
Speaking with journalists on Friday, the President of the NMA, Dr Uche Ojinmah said, βPrior to now, it has been that if it is an emergency, you treat the emergency if there is no report and then you report the case to the Police.
βI pray the IG can hold his policemen because it is always from them. You will come to say you admitted someone bleeding with a gunshot injury and the person is stabilised, but they will arrest you.
βThe problem is not with the medical doctors, it is with the Police, as long as the Police will obey what the IG has said, I assure you that it will be a thing of the past.β
