By Chidimma Okwara,
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) have renewed their urgent appeal to all hospitals, both public and private, to immediately treat victims of gunshot wounds without demanding a police report or initial monetary deposit.
The joint reminder from the two leading health professional bodies follows recurring reports across the country of critical delays in emergency care for gunshot victims, a practice that continues to contravene a clear federal law.
Law Mandates Immediate Care
The call to action is a direct reinforcement of the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Wounds Act of 2017. This law unequivocally mandates that every hospital in Nigeria must:
Accept or receive for immediate and adequate treatment any person with a gunshot wound.
Do so with or without police clearance and without an initial monetary deposit.
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Speaking on the issue, the National President of NARD, Dr. Mohammad Suleiman, condemned the refusal of care as “unacceptable” and a clear violation of professional and legal mandates.
“Our role as doctors is to save lives—not judge,” Dr. Suleiman stated. “Any doctor who turns away a patient in critical condition for monetary reasons or documentation must be held accountable. Offending doctors should be referred to the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) disciplinary tribunal for sanctions.”
Similarly, the Registrar of the NMCN, Mr. Ndagi Alhassan, acknowledged that some nurses are often constrained by restrictive hospital policies that demand documentation before care. However, he stressed that professional ethics and federal directives must override such institutional bureaucracy.
“In some hospitals, policy demands documentation before care, but nurses must prioritise life. With the federal directive, saving the patient comes first, then documentation can follow,” Mr. Alhassan advised.
The 2017 Act is designed to prevent preventable deaths and includes severe penalties for hospitals and personnel who fail to comply.
Section Seven of the Act states that any person or authority whose omission leads to the unnecessary death of a gunshot victim may face a fine of ₦500,000.00 or imprisonment for up to five years, or both.
The Act also makes it an offense for a hospital to fail to report the fact of treating a gunshot victim to the nearest police station within two hours of the commencement of treatment.
The Nigerian Police Force (NPF) has also previously issued a circular directing all personnel to comply with the Act’s provisions, clarifying that there must be no delay in treatment.
The joint plea by NARD and NMCN is a clear signal to healthcare providers across the nation to align their internal protocols with the existing federal law, ensuring that the fundamental right to life takes absolute precedence over administrative processes. The professional bodies also urged the public to report any cases of non-compliance to the relevant regulatory authorities for immediate investigation and disciplinary action.
