Nigeria Police Launch Forensic Lab, Digital Resource

The Nigeria Police Force has set up a forensic laboratory and digital resource center in Abuja to aid the activities of its criminal Intelligence and investigation department.

The facility, which include technologies for identification of crime suspects through features like the Iris and facial recognition, possible identification marks, multiple and extended finger prints, among others, are aimed at hunting down hoodlums, armed robbers, kidnappers, and their likes in the society.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, said the establishment of the centre would help the Force tackle the challenge of identity conflict and denial of evidence by suspects in courts of law.

“With this equipment we hope to put in the past instances where suspected culprits deny that statements or evidences they gave during interrogation do not belong to them,” said Mr. Arase.

He added that the facilities, which will compliment the efforts of the forensic department in Lagos, will also make it possible for the force to meet the presidential directive that all data capturing government agencies should harmonize personal information captured before the end of 2016.

“Unfortunately, the Nigeria Police Force has over the years been grappling with week forensic capacity which has been a major factor in our inability to manage complex criminal situations.

“With this systems, the Nigerian police is set to meet the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, to capture and remit to the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, all the biometrics of suspected persons arrested by the police.

“It will also put the police in a position to key into the presidential directives that all data capturing government agencies should harmonize and integrate personal identities captured by such agencies, on or before the end of 2016”, Mr. Arase said.

Mr. Arase said the facility has the capacity to access over 5 million law enforcement research materials, like journals, reports, force orders among other things.

He said the equipment will be used to detect possible impending dangers on the field of assignment through the personal identity management systems, which will work with equipment in control rooms for monitoring officers and gathering information from the field to various substations.