THE decision of the Lagos and Kaduna State governments to set up DNA Forensic centres is welcome news. Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, said his state is working hard to establish its DNA centre to tackle issues related to disease outbreaks and criminal investigations. The governor, at a public forum last week, explained that the Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) centre would help the state with the genetic history of diseases and aid the tracking of criminal elements wherever they might be in the country. The Lagos State Government, on its part, signed an agreement for the establishment of the Lagos State DNA Forensic Centre (LSDFC) last week. The State’s Attorney- General and Commissioner of Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, signed on behalf of the government while Dr. Richard Somiasi signed on behalf of the technical partner, ITSC Bioscience LCC, Lagos.
The LSDFC is to be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities to support all levels of DNA analysis and provide evidential DNA storage. When operational, it will facilitate prompt and effective prosecution of criminals and aid in the investigation of domestic and sexual violence. It will also help to resolve family and paternity issues, as well as aid the identification of corpses, especially victims of disasters.
We commend the Lagos and Kaduna state governments on this initiative and wish them a quick and successful delivery of the projects. The wonders of DNA science and technology have been around for more than 40 years. DNA testing has been found to be scientific, conclusive, expeditious and foolproof. It has been used to establish genealogy, paternity, ancestry, geographic origins of human groups, as well as determine latent biological disorders, diseases, as well as make predictions on vulnerabilities.
Indeed, the first criminal conviction based on DNA evidence happened exactly 30 years ago. Two semen samples from two rapes/murders that had occurred three years apart (1983 and 1986) matched the perpetrator’s DNA in a small village in Leicestershire, UK. An innocent man implicated in the murders was exonerated. DNA testing has revolutionised the criminal justice system throughout the world. Nigeria should not be an exception.
We appeal to the Federal Ministry of Justice to work with all the law enforcement agencies in the country on the establishment of DNA databases in all jurisdictions to assist in the detection and prevention of crimes. In the United States, in the 1980s, the Federal Government created “a system of national, state and local DNA database for the storage and exchange of DNA profiles that are available to law enforcement agencies across the country.” The system is one of the reasons criminals have no hiding place in the US. Most states require all convicted felons to provide DNA samples. Suspects for serious violent crimes like rapes, murders and kidnappings are also required to provide DNA samples. When these databases are linked to a national identification system, it constitutes a more secure environment for the protection of lives and property, thereby lightening the work of the police. Thus, for the nation to fight crime in any meaningful way, the National Identity Card project and the DNA forensic databases must be established and made to work side by side. The examples of Lagos and Kaduna states are, indeed, encouraging and should be emulated by all the states. But, if the Federal Government means to secure life and property in the country, it should have a functional DNA database.
Not much is known about what happened to the reported plan of the federal government to establish forensic laboratories as part of the celebration of the nation’s 50th independence anniversary in 2010. The Nigeria Police, some years ago, had also said it would establish a forensic centre. These plans should be implemented and the forensic centres quickly brought on stream to ensure widespread availability of forensic laboratories in the country. All the DNA centres in the country should also be streamlined for greater effectiveness.