Experts Harp on Forensic Science to Resolve Crimes in Nigeria
Stakeholders in the forensic and security industry, who included forensic analysts from the Nigerian Police, forensic scientists, linguistic forensic specialists, journalists, private security practitioners and members of the public have unanimously agreed that forensic science is germane to resolving crimes through thorough investigation to determine tough issues such as causes of death, suspect’s identification, finding missing persons and criminal profiling among others.
Speaking at a workshop in Lagos recently, which was organised by Academy Halogen, the educational arm of a leading security risk conglomerate, Halogen Group, the Chief Operating Officer of Academy Halogen, Dr. Wale Adeagbo, noted that the workshop was part of the Academy’s thought leadership and policy advocacy aimed at tackling major hiccups usually encountered in the value chain of enterprise security risk especially those affecting forensic practice in Nigeria.
He stated that the platform provided a unique atmosphere to explore how the private security industry can drive capacity building in the area of forensic science to better leverage emerging opportunities in forensic practice side by side with how government policies impact on the practice in Nigeria.
On her own, a forensic scientist and a panelist at the workshop, Ms. Avril Eyewu Edero, said there is a need for robust private security industry collaboration with the government and other stakeholders to take forensic practice to a world-class level in Nigeria.
She explained that “we now have a growing population of citizens, who are aware of the importance of forensic investigations and they are willing to pay for such analysis.”
Avril challenged private security companies and organisations like Academy Halogen to explore possibilities of investing in putting up a befitting forensic laboratory in the country.
According to her, “Nigerian citizens are becoming aware of forensic services; people are demanding forensics analysis and a lot of them are ready to pay for the services. This is an area private security industry can take advantage of. They can build their forensic laboratory, get people properly trained and the people will pay for it.”