Superintendent of Police, SP, Benjamin Hundeyin, has called on medical practitioners in Nigeria to attend to patients with gunshot wounds, even without a police report, in order to fulfil their core medical ethics, which involves saving lives.
The Police Superintendent made the call on his twitter handle on the 24th May, 2022, stating:
This comes after President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law, the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot act of 2017, which stipulates the compulsory treatment of gunshot victims by doctors and hospitals, even without a police report.
Several reports of Nigerians injured by gunshots and being denied medical attention until a police report is made available still arise.
One of such cases is that of Mrs. Uduak Oluyede, who died in February 2022, after being allegedly shot by armed robbers. She was said to have died following delays in attending to her at the hospital that she was rushed to, in Lagos.
According to an eyewitness and neighbour simply identified as Ify said: “We were at the shop when we suddenly heard a gunshot. But when I stepped outside, I could not trace where the sound of the gunshot came from. Suddenly, we saw Uduak bleeding as she ran into my shop and said we should rush her to a hospital.
She further stated that at the hospital, ”they demanded for a police report, and for her husband to sign an undertaking. So, I quickly rushed to the Aguda Police Station on Soloki Street and pleaded with policemen to follow me to the hospital so that treatment of the victim could commence.
A policeman was writing the report in the car as I rushed back to the hospital. By the time we got there, she had been placed on drip and oxygen, but sadly, she died.”
Many Nigerian youths have reacted to the post by SP Benjamin Hundeyin on social media.
On Instagram, _aniscooser wrote: ”There’re over 6000 languages in the world and this police just decided to speak facts. I wish they got this information and act accordingly..
ladyque_1-“Hope they listen”
stanalieke wrote:”This is no loud enough. Some doctors really need reorientation. You can be sued for negligence and you loose your licence if a gunsh0t victim dies because you refused to treat him on the ground that there’s a no police report yet”.
sheddi_bankz replied: Police/doctors for trenches never get this update o, it’ll take like 6yrs before they get it.
Some reactions from Twitter:
Story: Ene Ken-Yawe & Asma’u Sani