So, I just read that a DNA Forensics Lab has been established in Nigeria and Lagos State is proudly the home to this development. While this is a very good initiative and will help in the solving of criminal activities in Lagos, surrounding states in Nigeria and possibly neighbouring countries, as always Nigeria has rushed to take a step without first considering and tackling alot of loopholes.
Some of us are very familiar with crime series and movies where a crime is solved by extracting evidence from the scene of a crime, evidence is tested and DNA matching is carried out thereby leading to the arrest of the suspected criminal.
It's not magic. Other countries where this technique is used in crime solving didn't just wake up one morning and decide to establish a DNA Forensics Lab. Forensics is huge, deep and wide. There's fingerprint matching, voiceprint, etc. In countries where this works, you will notice that they have a database containing detailed information of all the people living in that state or country. How can you catch a criminal when you can't identify him/her?. Can Lagos State account for detailed information of its population?. Yes, a government official can say Lagos has so so so and so number of people living in the state but can the government boldly say it has these people's details stored in a government database whether federal or state?.
What about the Scientists who will operate in these Labs?. Is this going to be an initiative that will have foreigners crawling all over it or are they just going to end up putting "their people" in the Lab to run it?. If they have local Lab Scientists, will they ensure they are properly trained for the positions that will be available in the Lab when it begins operations?. How about maintenance and consistency?...
It's kinda easy for the government to put innovations and developments like this out there, but we know one of the problems in Nigeria is consistency. Its easy to start, but continuing it is the major challenge. Making sure that in 5 to 10 years this development will still be functioning and will even have upgraded is the challenge.
To catch a criminal is not beans. This is a really good and promising development and this, if properly managed, will ensure a decrease in criminal activities in Lagos State and Nigeria at large. To make this work, they will need to provide a functioning toll free number to call in the case of an emergency, they will need to have a proper and functioning response team, they will need to have a proper forensics team, they will need to work hand in hand with the Nigeria Police, they will need to have a detailed database containing pictures, fingerprints and voiceprints of all the people living in Lagos State first and then work with other states in Nigeria to have access to their detailed databases, they will need to provide equipments that can detect not just fingerprints and voiceprints but also different substances or materials that aided in a crime. In addition, they should also be ready for when solving a crime requires that testimony from one or more of the Lab's Scientists be provided should a case for the crime be opened in a court of law....there's so much involved and I hope they know what this development entails.
Congratulations to the brains behind this development, but I really hope they fix and fill up any and every possible loophole before they begin operations. Nigerian criminals can be very smart, but when this Lab starts operations, they better be ready to work hard to be 2, 3 or even 5 steps ahead of these criminals. Though, I think Nigeria should have surpassed this stage by now but it's not a mistake it's happening now especially with rise in criminal activities in different areas of the state. Criminals who think they can commit a crime especially Rape, Murder and Theft will now have to watch their backs and think twice before carrying out their acts.
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