A personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), identified as Akpan Blessing, has died after being stabbed by yet-to-be-identified assailants in Piawe, Bwari, Abuja.
Blessing was attacked in front of her residence in the early hours of last Tuesday. She was rushed to multiple hospitals but was denied immediate medical treatment because of the absence of a police report.
One of her distraught friends, who spoke to Daily Trust on Monday, revealed that Blessing was first taken to Gabriel Hospital and later to St. Theresa Hospital, both in Bwari town.
She said, “It is painful that we lost officer Blessing as she was fondly called due to a weakened and uncoordinated system.
“Someone was dying, and you insisted there must be a police report before she was attended to. We showed them her NSCDC identity card, yet they still didn’t treat her. We kept moving her from one hospital to another until she died.”
Another friend explained that Blessing was stabbed during a robbery attempt.
“She was on her way somewhere when some persons tried to rob her of her belongings. I guess they had to stab her to have their way,” the friend recounted.
After losing a significant amount of blood, Blessing was finally taken to Bwari General Hospital, where she was later confirmed dead by medical personnel on duty.
When contacted, FCT police spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, said the incident was not reported to the police and referred inquiries to the NSCDC for further details.
Similarly, NSCDC spokesman, Babawale Afolabi, stated that only the FCT Command of the agency could provide an official position on the matter. Multiple calls to the FCT Commandant, Olusola Odumosu, were unanswered as of press time.
Reacting to the incident, the Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Okechukwu Nwanguma, condemned the hospitals’ refusal to treat the victim without a police report.
Nwanguma said, “The fact that a victim of violence was abandoned to die while awaiting police paperwork speaks to a grave failure of both the healthcare and policing systems.
“This is not only heartbreaking but also in direct violation of Nigerian law. The Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act, 2017, mandates all hospitals, public and private, to provide immediate and adequate care to victims of gunshot wounds or life-threatening injuries without demanding a police report as a precondition for treatment.”
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