Across Nigeria, growing public outrage has trailed recurring reports of hospitals refusing to treat accident victims without a police report a practice that has cost countless lives.
Despite existing laws meant to prevent such tragedies, the issue persists, exposing the deep cracks in Nigeria’s healthcare, legal, and law enforcement systems.
At the centre of the controversy is a long-standing fear among medical practitioners: being criminally implicated if they treat victims of gunshot wounds or accidents later linked to criminal activity. Many doctors insist that without a police report, they risk arrest, detention, or even prosecution a reality that has made them prioritize self-protection over emergency care.
Nigeria’s Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshots Act 2017 mandates hospitals to provide immediate care to victims of gunshots and accidents, with or without a police report. The law clearly states that no hospital or doctor shall deny treatment to such persons.
However, enforcement remains weak. Medical professionals argue that while the law exists, police officers often disregard it, harassing doctors who treat victims later discovered to be involved in criminal activities.
“We want to save lives, but doctors are not above the law,” said Dr. Victor Adebayo, a Lagos-based trauma surgeon. “If the police arrest you for treating a suspect, no one comes to your rescue. The system leaves doctors exposed.”
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This fear is not unfounded. Over the years, several cases have emerged where doctors were detained for treating victims who turned out to be robbery suspects. In some rural hospitals, administrators now insist on seeing a police report before beginning treatment a practice that often leads to delays and avoidable deaths.
Security analysts and civil society advocates say the issue reflects a larger problem the absence of trust between citizens, the police, and healthcare institutions. Hospitals, meant to be safe havens, have become bureaucratic battlegrounds where compassion is traded for caution.
“This is not just a medical problem; it’s a governance issue,” said human rights lawyer, Chidi Odinkalu. “The law is clear, but enforcement agencies act otherwise. Until the government guarantees protection for doctors, people will keep dying from preventable causes.”
Families of victims also express frustration and anger. In several cases, bystanders have narrated how accident victims were turned away by hospitals or left unattended while police reports were being processed.
“My brother bled to death in a private hospital because they insisted on a police report,” lamented Mrs. Kemi Akinola, whose sibling died in a car crash in Ibadan. “What kind of system values paperwork over life?”
Health policy experts argue that better coordination between the Police and the Ministry of Health is urgently needed. They recommend establishing an Emergency Response Protocol that allows hospitals to treat victims first, with police verification to follow later.
Others suggest that hospitals should have dedicated emergency funds and legal protection policies for doctors who act in good faith.
“If we truly want to save lives, government must back doctors with clear legal and institutional safeguards,” said Dr. Funmi Oladipo of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA). “Fear should never come before humanity.”
Until that happens, Nigeria’s roads and hospitals may continue to serve as grim reminders of a system where bureaucracy kills faster than injury — and where the line between saving lives and obeying the law remains tragically blurred.