Olukayode Egbetokun, the acting Inspector General of Police, has ordered that gunshot victims be treated without a police record.
The directive was contained in a memo signed on Wednesday by the Force Principal Staff Officer, Olatunji Disu.
The memo was sent to all Deputy Inspectors-General, Assistant Inspectors-General, Commissioners, and Commandants of Police Colleges in Ikeja, Kaduna, Oji-River, Maiduguri, and Enugu on October 25, 2023.
According to Egbetokun, the decision was in accordance with the 2017 Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act.
The Act, which went into effect on January 1, 2018, requires all health facilities to accept victims of gunshot wounds for prompt treatment without requiring a police report.
The memo read, “I forward herewith a copy of letter HMSH&SW/IG/CTCV/10/2023 dated October 3, 2023, received from the Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare on the above-underlined subject, and write to convey the directive of the Inspector-General of Police that you comply with and enforce the provisions of the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act 2017 without any hesitation.
“The Inspector-General of Police further directs that you make this a subject of lecture and circulate widely for the members of the public to be aware of our compliance with the National Law.”
In the attached letter from the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Minister of State, Olatunji Alausa, drew the Egbetokun’s attention to the law’s low compliance, which he attributed to a lack of awareness among operatives of the force and sympathizers who may fear being implicated.
