Institute Plans Forensic Laboratories In Nigeria

Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCFIN), has unveiled plans to set up world class forensic laboratories across Nigeria to usher the country into the era of scientific investigations.

This was disclosed yesterday by the president/ chairman of council of the institute, Dr Iliyasu Gashinbaki.

He spoke in Abuja at a press briefing to unveil the institute as chartered by statute and the tasks ahead in combating corruption in Nigeria.

Iliyasu said the analysis of things like finger prints, including disputes regarding DNA and the rest will be over.  He said with the laboratories, security agencies will no longer spend years upon years wasting government money on investigations, adding that if forensic and technology are deployed appropriately, accurate results will be gotten and cases will be cracked quickly.

He also revealed that the Institute will partner more with other law enforcement agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Commission (ICPC), the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), the police, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (DLEA), and Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) among others in the war against corruption, illicit financial flows and other forms of criminality in Nigeria.

He said the laboratories will be complemented with the building of the National College of Forensics and Fraud Investigators (NCFFI), by the Institute to fast track the training and retraining of law enforcement personnel in scientific investigations.

“The College will be domiciled at EFCC Academy, Abuja as part of the Institute’s strategic alliance with the Commission,” he said.

He said the institute will also checkmate the issue of fake certificates among public office holders by working with INEC and the Inter-party Advisory Council, (IPAC) to make sure that political parties before their primary elections will turn in the certificates of the people they will want to put forward as candidates for elections for forensic investigations and proper forensic review. “That is one of the gifts for Nigerians from this institute, and that is the very least of the many things that this Institute has set out to do.”

Earlier on CIFCFIN charter, the sponsor of the bill and chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakubu, said the passage of CIFCFIN Bill by the National Assembly and the assent by President Muhammadu Buhari is a great feat in the fight against corruption as the institute will help reduce all the stress the anti-corruption agencies are going through in terms of prosecution as well as save billions of naira in terms of capital flight for the country.