Press Releases

Need To Ensure Sanctity Of Human Life Informed New Coroner's Law - LASG

Aug 18, 2008 - Lagos State Government on Monday reiterated that its respect for the sanctity of human life and the need to ensure that human life is treated with utmost respect informed the latest amendment which was effected on the Coroner’s law in the state.

According to the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Supo Shasore (SAN) who addressed the press at Alausa along with his Health Ministry counterpart, Dr Jide Idris, the Coroner’s law is not a new legislation but one which has been in existence since 1954 and later amended in 1972.

Mr Shasore emphasized that the misgivings being expressed by some professionals on the law is misplaced because not all deaths are reportable especially if such deaths resulted from natural and determinable causes.

Mr Shasore said before the amendment bill became a law, several workshops and public hearings were held on the law to appraise the public on what the law would entail, promising that more enlightenment campaigns would be carried out to in the rural areas to correct the wrong impressions created on the new law.

Health Commissioner, Dr Jide Idris said no where in the provisions of the new law is it made an offence for medical doctors to issue death certificates for deaths which they knew and believed to be natural deaths.

The Health Commissioner added that no government would shirk its responsibility of allowing indiscriminate and unverifiable corpse to be interred without autopsy being carried out especially when there is reasonable suspicion that the death is unnatural.

Dr Idris explained that in order to make the law very smooth in operation, the State Government will appoint more Coroners as District Coroners have already been appointed for the eight magistracy in the State.

Mr Shasore advised all those with genuine reservations about the coroner’s law to make submissions and representations in writing to the office of the Honourable Attorney General of the State before same can be forwarded to the Executive Council as executive bills for necessary amendments to be effected on the law.

The Attorney General also said the State intends to carry out a proposed consequential amendment of the coroner’s law, asking stakeholders to take advantage of the opportunity when it commences.

The Attorney General reiterated that unless the law is amended, the office of the Attorney General will be failing in its duties if it fails to implement the law to the letter as it is a piece of legislation that has gone through all processes.

Shedding more light on the law, Mr. Shasore said it is the duty of a coroner to determine whether a particular reported death should be subjected to autopsy or not, saying it is regrettable that the legislation is now generating reactions and threats from some professional bodies.

He also informed that in some cases, a corpse which ordinarily should have been buried due to religious injunctions may be delayed for autopsy and coroner’s inquest, if there are genuine indications that the death occurred due to unnatural means.

Dr Idris said the reported cases of mortuaries getting filled with dead bodies is an indication of the shirking of responsibilities by some medical personnel who are only bent on using the new coroner’s law to create confusion.

He added that it is not impossible for some public hospitals to turn back dead bodies but that such hospitals must be those who lack the facilities to preserve dead bodies as the State is currently refurbishing the Lagos and Ikeja General Hospital Mortuaries to provide better services.