Nigeria’s National Assembly has passed seven Bills into law, prominent among which is the Compulsory Treatment and Care of Victims of Gunshots Bill.
This is sequel to presentation of nine bills to the Senate for concurrence from the House of Representatives.
The Bill for an Act to make Provisions for the Compulsory Treatment and Care for the Victims of Gunshot and Other Matters Connected Therewith will give unrestricted access to medical services by victims of gunshots; as well as strengthen legal provisions and guarantee peoples’ fundamental rights to life and dignity of their persons.
A Bill with 18 clauses, the bill covers all aspects of gunshot injuries and the circumstances thereto if signed into law will make it mandatory for medical facilities to attend to individuals with such injuries without recourse to police report or approval for the purpose of saving lives.
However, immediate notification must be made to the police regarding such cases.
The other bills are the Animal Health and Husbandry Technologies Bill, Corporate Manslaughter Bill, National Child Protection and Enforcement Agency Bill, National Intelligence Agency Pension Board Bill, Nigerian Academy of Science Bill and National Postgraduate College of Medical Laboratory Science Bill.
The Senate concurred to seven out of the nine bills that came from the House of Representatives and referred two of the Bills to its relevant committees for further scrutiny and legislative input.