Everyday society undergoes different transformation. Nature has either endowed or placed demand on human beings to procreate. As humanity progresses in growth, internal and external influences play a major role in the character formation of people.
Development in most societies have come of age with so much security challenges where men cleverly maneuver their way out of criminal acts to evade justice. In countries like Nigeria, many have been convicted of offences they knew nothing about while real criminals walk free, and sometimes tall. In an attempt to consolidate their acts, criminals initiate and fund security support group to exploit the weakness of the system, with the intention of taking undue advantage of its deficiencies.
Historically, various approaches have been deployed towards fishing out criminals in different climes. In contemporary time, the search for error free, time tested and objective based crime investigation led to the discovery of Forensic Science as an application of broad range of sciences to answer questions of interest to a legal system. Whether in relation to a crime or a civil action, forensic science utilizes natural broad range of sub-sciences that exploit natural techniques to get relevant criminal and legal evidence to ensure justice is not subverted.
Forensic DNA analysis as developed by sir Alec Jeffery was first used in 1985 to determine the person responsible for a murder of a 15-year old girl, Lynda Mann who was raped to death in Narborough, Leicestershire, a small English town. Semen sample obtained from the victim was eventually used by Jeffery to establish a strong case against the criminal. In Nigeria, effective investigation of crime has always been a complicated issue. Till date, high profile murder cases involving high ranking personalities such as Pa Alfred Rewane, Chief Bola Ige, Engineer Funsho Williams and many others remain unresolved largely due to the burden of proof.
It is in order to ensure that perpetrators of evil are identified and appropriately punished that the Lagos state government established a first State owned Forensic centre. The centre, driven by world class technology in forensic inquest, is expected to bring perpetrators of crime to book while ensuring quick justice. The facility is capable of resolving all forms of crimes, paternity issues and others through modern technique of investigation which is now the trend across the world. It has the capacity to provide police, prosecutors, legal representatives and observers with crime scene processing; serological screening for blood and semen; DNA analysis of bone, teeth, hair, maternal and paternal DNA analysis. Other services include expert witness and case handling service; maternal and paternal ancestry DNA analysis; cold case file review and mass disaster human identification.
The Lagos DNA centre, which conforms to international standard is the first of its kind in the country and the decision to allow members of the public, other states and neighbouring countries to have access to the use of the forensic centre in order to meet their DNA needs, makes it more profound. Fighting crime in a cosmopolitan state like Lagos is herculean if one factors in the huge population and their background, the defects in our judicial system and the attendant lack of scientific methods to apprehend criminals. With the forensic centre now in place, the fight against crime in Lagos has, no doubt, received a boost, and perpetrators of heinous crimes such as rape, assassination, armed robbery etc can easily be apprehended and brought to book even years after committing the crime.
This is possible because the forensic laboratory will employ the use of DNA fingerprinting- a test to identify and evaluate the genetic information-called DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) in a person’s cells. This test would be conducted on suspects, criminals and results kept in a data base for future reference and analysis. The fact that DNA is contained in almost every cell makes it easy for any tiny part of a person’s body such as the hair, body fluid, tiny drop of blood etc to be used to identify them.
Being the first of its kind and the only one in the country, the laboratory will no doubt generate additional income into the coffers of the state government as other states; security agencies as well as other countries will have opportunity to access the services to be rendered. Specifically, the opportunity granted neighbouring countries to access the facility makes it a sort of medical tourism center which will generate foreign exchange that government can utilize to maintain the laboratory and further develop infrastructures and facilities in the health sector.
The establishment of the centre is a demonstration of the Lagos State government’s commitment to fighting crime and oiling the wheel of justice in the state. Presently, the centre is focusing on DNA analysis to support the justice sector in diverse areas. The centre, is no doubt, a remarkable feat, especially now that the issue of crime in Nigeria has assumed a dimension that a modern and robust strategy will have to be put in place to ensure a drastic reduction.
Today, our prisons are full of innocent inmates while dangerous criminals walk about freely due to lack of conclusive evidence. With increased occurrence of criminal activities impinging on the security of Lagosians, and the preponderance of cases of rape, assault, kidnapping and arson, and even murder, there is no better news than that of the establishment of the centre.
However, while the forensic laboratory has many benefits as it has been clearly highlighted above, care must be taken to guide against errors and invasion of privacy. Also, the data bases in the computer must be secured to prevent hackers from exploiting the information. It is, therefore, important that personnel at the centre embrace Global Best Practices in the sector I order to ensure that the goals behind its establishment are not only met but actually surpassed.
Bolaji Odumade
Odumade is of Features Unit, Lagos Stare Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja
