The House of Representatives has commenced moves to amend the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Act.
The House is also making moves to enforce treatment of armed attack victims without a police clearance.
The planned amendment to the EFCC act is to allow the President pick the executive chairman of the anti-graft agency from any of the security agencies.
Only the police force is currently allowed to produce the EFCC chairman.
The bill sponsored by Hon. Olawale Raji has scaled the second reading and has been referred to the Committee on Justice for further action.
The proposed amendment provides that anyone to be appointed chairman of the commission must “be a serving or retired member of any government security or law enforcement agency not below the rank of Commissioner of Police or equivalent; or a person who has held or eligible to hold office as a Judge of a Superior Court of record in Nigeria; or a person with recognised financial experience and proven integrity either in the public or private sector.”
In the other bill seeking treatment for victims of armed attack without a police report, the sponsor Raji, said the law will empower hospitals (both public and private) to treat victims of armed attack aside gunshots injuries without a police clearance and save the victim the agony of being rejected.
The bill seeks to amend the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshots Act, 2017 thereby expanding the scope of its application to include weapons other than firearms that could be used to inflict injuries on a victim” and was passes during plenary in Abuja.
Raji said: “Originally, the crux of the compulsory treatment and care for victims of gunshots Act, 2017 is to permit both public and private hospitals accept and provide immediate treatment for victims with gun/firearms injuries with or without a police clearance.
“However, due to the restricted coverage of this act, many innocent victims of other dangerous weapons other than firearms have consistently being rejected by the hospitals for want of a police clearance, which has led to their untimely death.”
He said with the amendment of the law which will accommodate innocent victims who sustained injuries other than gunshot injuries, the National Assembly would have consciously put an end to the conundrum of hospitals refusing to treat dying patients who have sustained injuries other than gunshots injuries and without a police clearance.