‘Doctors Who Reject Gunshot Victims Are Criminally Liable’ – Lagos State CP, Edgal Imohimi

Lagos State police commissioner, Edgal Imohimi, warns doctors that refusing to treat a gunshot victim is a criminal offence -more or less. This, he said in response to a media report that doctors at the Reddington hospital in Ikeja, Lagos rejected one Engineer Adebayo Akinwunmi who suffered bullet wounds after armed robbers attacked his home in Ofada-Mokoloki, Ogun state recently.

The hospital had reportedly rejected the victim on the grounds that there was no police report.

The police boss in the statement released by the command’s PRO, SP Chike Oti, described the hospital’s action as cruel.

Read the statement below…

The attention of the Nigeria Police, Lagos State Command, has been drawn to the  Punch Newspapers publication of Monday, May 14, 2018, captioned ” Hospital rejects victim over bullet injuries.”

The story goes that one Engr. Adebayo Akinwunmi, a senior engineer with an Information and Communications  Technology company,  was shot and wounded by armed robbers in his house at Ofada-Mokoloki, Ogun state and was brought to Reddington hospital, Ikeja for treatment only to be refused admission on the unlawful and inexcusable grounds that there was no police report.

The Command considers the action of the hospital as cruel; perhaps, an indication that the hospital management may be ignorant of the “Compulsory Treatment and Care of Victims  Of Gunshot Act, 2017.

In the light of this development, the Command wishes to inform all medical practitioners in Lagos state , that the Act  demands that every hospital in Nigeria whether public or private shall accept or receive for immediate and adequate treatment with or without police clearance any person with a gunshot wounds. The Act, however requires the hospital treating such a patient to report the fact to the nearest police station within two (2) hours of commencement of treatment.

The Commissioner of Police,  Lagos State, CP Imohimi Edgal, saddened by the allegation against the Reddington Hospital, has directed all Area Commanders and  Divisional Police Officers in Lagos State  to henceforth arrest and diligently prosecute any medical practitioner who rejects a gunshot victim on the ground of no police report. The CP wants doctors to note that the Act recommends a 5-year-jail term for   any person, hospital or authority who stands by or omits to do his bit which results in the unnecessary death of any person with bullet wounds.