Introduction

The police as an institution is well

acknowledged in the
contemporary global society as indispensable
in the
coordination of peaceful coexistence. As such
the police
have been called upon to address, protect
and promote
human rights and the prevention of crime, as well
as other
sundry services aimed at keeping society on
the path of
progress and continued development.
However, current
realities in different societies including Nigeria
has made it
imperative that the function of the police
need to be
reviewed and upgraded. Factors such as
growing poverty,
wide income disparities, high level of
unemployment, social
dislocation which has led to massive rural-urban
migration
and the breakdown of societal values leading
to business
frauds, drug abuse, and community unrest
and there is a
growing concern about the level of uncertainty
and security
in different parts of the country. These
challenges have
made it essential that the police undertake
various duties and
obligations, but it still remains that the core
responsibility of
the police is the prevention and control of crime.
Crime control as a major function of policing, in
the opinion
of Kpae and Adishi (2017), is the totality of
efforts and
activities designed and executed to hold the
volume of crime
to the barest minimum possible, to curtail the
spread to other
environment and to protect the society from
the inimical
behaviour of habitual and abnormal offenders.
Preventing
crime is often achieved through an efficient
mechanism
whereby detective skills and abilities of officers
are utilized
in ascertaining the nature of a crime, the
criminals involved,
as well as the consequences of not
addressing criminal
proliferation. Also involved is the need for
prompt
apprehension of offenders, prosecution of
offenders and the
provision of valid evidence during the criminal
prosecution
process.
With the constitutional provision of the Nigerian
state, the
Nigerian police force is saddled with the
responsibility
primary responsibility of fighting crime and
enforce
established law and other in collaboration
with sister
agencies including the courts and the
correctional systems.
Generally, these agencies are collectively referred
to as the
criminal judicial system. Citing the Police Act
(1964),
Adishi (2007) [4] identified the following as the
functions
and roles of the Nigerian Police Force:
 Prevention and detection of crime,
Apprehension of
offenders,
 Preservation of law and order, Protection
of life and
property.
 The due enforcement of all laws and
regulations with
which they are directly charged, and shall
perform such
military duties within and without Nigeria as
may be
required of them by, or under the authority of this
or any
other act (Police Act, Cap 336 1964).
While crime is a staple part of almost all societies
globally,
the rate of criminal activities in the Nigerian
space has
grown at an alarming rate. Beginning in the
1970s, the
popular crime prevalent in Nigerian included
armed
robbery, stealing, assault, burglary, rape etc. This
trend has
changed to more complex criminal activities
including
terrorism, bomb blast, kidnapping, drug
trafficking, money
laundry, political assassinations and cybercrime
(Utebor &
Ekpimah, 2011). Despite stringent laws and
regulatory
policies against the upsurge of these crimes,
there appears to
be an increase which has made the police
overwhelmed and
seemingly helpless of salvaging the situation,
especially in
high profile cases. While these may be attributed
to a wide
array of factors, the multidimensional nature
of Nigerian
problems, her unique political and socio-
economic history
has further compounded this ugly situation as it
is capable
of undermining its corporate existence and
her effort
towards sustainable development (Ikuteyijo,
2009) [3].
Beyond this are the challenges of technology
advances in
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Research
92
criminal activities, porous and ungoverned
borders, lack of
political will and massive corruption at all
tiers of
government. These challenges have called for
the need for
the Nigerian Police Force to extend beyond
the use of
traditional investigation, to the development and
utilization
of forensic investigations.
Understanding forensic investigation as used in
this study
requires a clear operationalization of the term
investigation.
An investigation, as defined by the Oxford
Talking
Dictionary (1994), refers to the process of
systemic
examination of a particular issue, item or
object. On this
basis of this definition, Bennet and Hess (2004)
[1]
defined
criminal investigation as the process of
discovering,
collecting, preparing, identifying and presenting
evidence to
determine what happened and who is
responsible for a
criminal act. Similarly, Schmalleger (2005:237)
[7]
defines
criminal investigation as “the process of
discovering,
collecting, preparing, identifying and presenting
evidence to
determine what happened and who is
responsible when a
crime occurs.”
While criminal investigations have been a
necessity in
Nigeria, the inability of the Nigerian Police to
unearth
perpetrators of these crimes in spite of the
availability of
reliable technological tools has remained a
question
unanswered. This has become worrisome in
the face of
burgeoning murder cases, especially high
profile one. As
shown in the table below, there have been
various high
profile murder cases in Nigeria, with many
unresolved.
Table 1: Sample of High Profile Murder Cases in Nigeria
S/N
Name of Victims
Mode of Killing
Where
Year
1.
Harry Marshall
Assassinated
His Abuja Residence
March, 5th 2003
2.
Captain Jerry Agbeyebe
Assassinated
Lagos State
October 12th, 2004
3.
Sunday Ugwu
Mistaken Identity (Murder)
Enugu State
September 9th, 1999
4.
Momoh Lawal
Assassinated
Ekiti State
2001
5.
Commissioner of Police Chinwike Asadu
Assassinated
Enugu State
3rd March 2013
6.
Ikechukwu Udendu
Assassinated
Anambra State
7.
Alhaji Alabi Olajokum
Assassinated
Osun State
May 15th 2005
8.
Hajiya Sa’adatu Rimi
Assassinated
Lagos State
January 14th 2006
9.
Alhaji Mohammed Awoal Jibrim
Assassinated
June 19th, 2007.
10.
Isiaka Adeleke
Assassinated
April 23rd, 2017
11.
Dele Arijo
Assassinated
Lagos State
November 25th, 2002
12.
Otunba Dipo Dina
Assassinated
Ogun State
2007
13.
Ayodeji Daramola
Assassinated
His house Ekiti State
2006
14.
Funshow Williams
Assassinated
His Residence Lagos State
July 27th, 2006
15.
Isaac Adaka Boro
Assassinated
May 9th, 1968
16.
Hon. Wahu Tiawo
Assassinated
Abeokuta
October 16th, 2009
17.
Gbega Apolola, Ishola Iyanda, Zachus Olumide,
Demola Adeturo, Akan Adebayo
Assassinated
Car Wash Abeokuta
March 10th 2007
18.
Otuba Olumayowa Olukoya
Stage Car Accident
2007
19.
Momoh Lawal
Assassinated
Kogi State
March 5th, 2001
20.
Odunayo Olagbaju
Assassinated
Osun State
December 21st 2001
21.
Bola Ige
Assassinated
His Bed Room Ibadan Oyo State
2001
22.
Janet Oladapo
Assassinated
Odigbo Ondo State
August 13th 2002
23.
Ahmed Pategi
Assassinated
Illorin
August 15th 2002
24.
Victor Nwankwo
Assassinated
Enugu State
August 29th, 2002
25.
Barnabas Igwe and Wife Abigail
Assassinated
Anambra State
September 1st, 2002
26.
John Nunu
Assassinated
Bayelsa State
September 26th 2002
27.
Chimere Ikoku
Assassinated
His Residence Enugu
October 20th, 2002
28.
Dele Arojo
Assassinated
Lagos State
November 25th 2002
29.
Alhaji Isyaku Muhammed
Assassinated
2002
30.
Theodore Agwatu
Assassinated
His residence Owerri
February 22nd, 2003
31.
Emily Omope
Acid Attack
Unknown Person
March 3rd, 2003

The inability of the Nigerian Police to resolve

these cases
using traditional investigative techniques has
called for the
need for forensic investigations. Forensic
investigation is
not new in the Nigerian context. There are
three forensic
units in Nigeria available to the Nigerian police,
which still
has not fully addressed the large cases of
high profile
murder cases. The researchers from personal
experience,
suspect that so far the importance and value
of forensic
evidence may have not been fully appreciated
and utilized.
An investigation of the use of forensic evidence in
criminal
investigations is based on the assumption
that Police
officers, who are at the forefront of crime
prevention,
control and investigating of criminals in our
society; can use
such evidence to prevent and control crime in
the country.
The way police officers perceive forensics will
determine
whether or not forensic evidence is seen as
needed or
effectively used during criminal investigations. It
is against
this background that this study set out to
ascertain the use of
forensic evidence for criminal investigations by
the Nigerian
police force. The result of this study will be a
pointer to the
challenges to use of forensic evidence by the
Nigeria police
and probably why in particularly high profile
murder cases
remain unsolved.
Research Questions
The study was guided by the following research
questions
1. To what extent do the police investigators
use forensic
evidence for criminal investigation in Nigeria?
2. What are the challenges in the use of forensic
evidence
for criminal investigation in Nigeria?
3. How can the challenges inhibiting the use
of forensic
evidence for criminal investigations be overcome?
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Research
93
4. How can police performance in solving
murders be
improved especially high profile ones?
Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were further tested to
guide this
study:
1. There is no significant difference in the extent
of the use
of forensic evidence based on years of
experience.
2. There is no significant relationship between
usage of
forensic evidence and the challenges faced by
police
investigators during high profile murder
investigations.
Literature Review
Criminal Investigation: Criminal investigation is
an
applied science that involves the study of
facts, used to
identify, locate and prove the guilt of an accused
criminal.
Criminal investigation is concerned with
activities that
violate the law of the state legal system that
regards such
violation as serious enough to necessitate the
need for
investigations. A complete criminal
investigation can
include searching, interviews, interrogations,
evidence
collection and preservation and various
methods of
investigation. Modern-day criminal
investigations
commonly employ many modern scientific
techniques
known collectively as forensic science.
Criminal
investigation refers to the process of collecting
information
(or evidence) about a crime in order to:
1. Determine if a crime has been committed.
2. Identify the perpetrator.
3. Apprehend the perpetrator.
4. Provide evidence to support a conviction in
court.
If the first three objectives are successfully
attained, then the
crime can be said to be solved. Several other
outcomes such
as recovering stolen property, deterring
individuals from
engaging in criminal behaviours, and
satisfying crime
victims have also been associated with the
process.
Criminal investigation can be reactive or
proactive. The
reactive criminal investigation occurs when
the police
respond to a crime that has already occurred,
while the
proactive criminal investigation is where the
investigation
may go on before, during and after an offense is
committed.
The reactive criminal investigation process can be
organized
into several stages. The first stage is the initial
discovery
and response. Of course, before the criminal
investigation
process can be reactive criminal investigation
process can
be organized into several stages. The first stage
is the initial
discovery and response. Of course, before the
criminal
investigation process can begin, the police
must discover
that a crime occurred or the victim (or witness)
must realize
that a crime occurred and notify the police.
In the vast
majority of cases, it is the victim that first realizes
a crime
occurred and notifies the police. Then, most
often, a patrol
officer is dispatched to the crime scene or the
location of the
victim.
The second stage, the initial investigation,
consists of the
immediate post-crime activities of the patrol
officer who
arrives at the crime scene. The tasks of the
patrol officer
during the initial investigation are to arrest the
culprit (if
known and present), locate and interview
witnesses, and
collect and preserve other evidence. Criminal
Investigation
also involves the investigation of violations of
Criminal
Law. In a criminal investigation, the state is
responsible for
all the expense of investigating the case and
presenting it in
court, with the exception of the accused's
defense; however,
if the accused is below a certain income level, the
state will
pay for a lawyer to defend him or her. This
responsibility
includes ensuring that all witnesses
(prosecution and
defense alike) appear at the trial. The victim of
the criminal
act is considered a witness and can be compelled
to testify
in almost all cases.
Criminal investigation is a search for
witnesses and
evidence to support the charge in court by
proving beyond
any reasonable doubt that the crime was
committed and that
it was the accused who committed it. It is
critical to a
successful investigation that the investigator(s)
know the
essential ingredients of the particular crime(s)
they are
investigating, otherwise, they do not know what
evidence to
look for to support each of those crime's
essential
ingredients.
On a general level, investigations can be
classified into the
following types:
 Reactive investigators (overt): Reactive
investigation
is an investigation initiated by a complaint
registered by
a victim of the crime or a client. A reactive
investigation
can be a preliminary investigation and follow
up or
latent investigation.
 Proactive investigators (covert): Proactive
investigation
is carried out by law enforcement agencies
personnel
based on their initiative. The idea of
proactive
investigation is to apprehend or stop a planned
criminal
operation rather than waiting for the crime to
be
committed.
Forensic Science: Forensic science can be
generally
considered as the application of science to
criminal and civil
laws, mainly on the criminal side during a
criminal
investigation, as governed by the legal
standards of
admissible evidence and criminal procedure.
Forensic
Science can also be defined as the science
used in the
detection and prosecution of crime; or as the
application of
scientific skills of examination and evaluation
to the
resolution of social and legal issues; or, in its
broadest
sense, the application of science to law.
Forensic science
should, therefore, serve as a supportive tool in
our quest for
justice.
Forensic scientists collect, preserve, and analyze
scientific
evidence during the course of an investigation.
While some
forensic scientists travel to the scene of the crime
to collect
the evidence themselves, others occupy a
laboratory role,
performing analysis on objects brought to
them by other
individuals.
Application of Forensic Science to Criminal
Investigation
Due to the wide application of forensic
science, not all
aspects are applied in criminal investigations at
all times.
Some of the aspects of forensic science applied to
forensic
investigations includes:
 Forensic Accounting is the application of
investigative
and analytical skills for the purpose of resolving
financial
issues in a manner that meets standards
required by
courts of law. It should be noted that forensic
accounting
is not limited to the use of financial
investigations that
result in legal prosecution, however, if this is the
purpose,
the investigation and analysis must meet the
standards
required in the court of law that the jurisdiction.
 Forensic Fingerprinting: Throughout the
twentieth
century, fingerprints have become widely used
in the
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Research
94
identified individuals. This is particularly so in
forensic
investigation and the compilation of criminal
records.
When a crime is committed, there is much in the
way of
evidence that may be left at the scene by the
offender.
For nearly 100 years, the application of
powders, the
impression of an individual's fingerprint has
proven
easily collected a sample of this physical
evidence. In
recent years, many it's have been made in the
methods of
visualizing fingerprint impressions with
chemical
reagents and a variety of high-intensity light
sources,
such as lasers available alternatives.
 Forensic document analysis: This is the
examination or
questioned document examination answers
questions
about a disputed document using a variety of
scientific
processes and methods. Many examinations
involve a
comparison of the questioned document, or
components
of the document, with a set of known
standards. The
most common type of examination involves
handwriting, whereby the examiner tries to
address
concerns about potential authorship.
 Forensic DNA analysis: This involves the
utilization of
the uniqueness of an individual's DNA to
answer
forensic questions such as paternity/maternity
testing
and placing a suspect at a crime scene, e.g.
in rape,
murder investigation or physical assault.
 Mobile device forensics is the scientific
examination
and evaluation of evidence found in mobile
phones, e.g.
Call History and Deleted SMS, and includes SIM
Card
Forensics.
 Forensic Ballistic: Forensics Ballistics is the
examination of evidence relating to firearms at a
crime
scene, including the effects and behaviour of
projectiles
and explosive devices. A forensic ballistics
expert
matches bullets, fragments, and other evidence
with the
weapons of alleged suspects or others involved in
a case.
Experts may be asked to explain their findings to
a jury
during criminal or civil trials.
Forensic Investigation: Morn (2000:77)
suggests that
forensic science investigation can be defined in
two ways:
Firstly, it involves the application of scientific
theory,
technology and technicians to crime and
criminal
investigation, and, secondly, and more
specifically, it is
divided into pathology and criminalities.
Criminalities deals
with physical evidence, while pathology deals
specifically
with death. Lambrechts (2001:7) [5] describes
forensic
investigation “as an investigation aimed at
instituting court
proceedings, criminal as well as civil, and where
some other
scientific knowledge is applied to a legal
problem”.
Lambrechts (2001:93) [5] furthermore states that
virtually all
investigators today are referred to as “forensic
investigators”.
Research Method
Design: The design for this study is a mixed
method
research design of the survey and key informant
interview.
In the present study the researcher will collect
data from a
sample of criminal investigators and staff of
the three
forensic units in order to ascertain the use of
forensic
evidence in criminal investigations by Nigerian
Police
Force.
Study Area: The setting of this research is Nigeria,
which is
located in West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea.
Geographically, the area has a total of
923,768km2. It has
three major religions namely: Christianity,
Islam and
Indigenous beliefs, its major ethnic groups are
Hausas,
Yorubas, Ibos, and 240 smaller ethnic
nationalities. The
official language is English. The population is
over
l56million (July 2006 census estimate) with a
population
growth rate of 3%. It operates a presidential
system of
government and bicameralism as the legislative
pattern. The
legal system is based on English common law,
Islamic and
Tribal laws, administratively there are 36
states and a
federal capital territory, Abuja. Nigeria got her
independence on the 1st October 1960 from
the British
Colonial system, it operates a written
constitution of 1999
and as amended in 2011. However, this study will
be carried
out in three locations Abuja, Lagos, and Enugu.
Lagos state
located in the south western geopolitical zone
of Nigeria.
Abuja is the Federal Capital Territory, commonly
known as
FCT the territory is located just north of the
confluence of
the Niger River and Benue River. Enugu State is
one of the
states in the eastern part of Nigeria. These three
states were
chosen because the three forensic units
owned by the
Nigeria police are located in them.
Population of the Study: The population of
the study
comprises of all Criminal Investigation units and
Custodian
of all Criminal Records in these commands and
the staff of
the forensic units in the three states and
Retired senior
police officers.
Sample and Sampling Technique: Various
sampling
technique was used in getting the number of
respondents
needed for the study. Simple random sampling by
balloting
without replacement was used to select three
commands
from all the commands in the country. Purposive
sampling
technique was used to select three forensic
units in the
country while snowballing technique was used to
select staff
of forensic units and retired senior police
officers.
Furthermore, a purposive sampling technique
using
snowball was used to select only investigative
officers.
Also, an attempt was made to use as many
officers in the
forensic units as possible. For key Informant
Interview all
Sectional Head of Criminal Investigation, sectional
heads of
forensic units and selected retired senior
police officers
were interviewed. The respondents' identity
was protected
as a condition for participation, due to the
sensitivity of the
issue under study.
Instrumentation: The researchers developed a
semi-
structured questionnaire to elicit responses from
the sample.
The questionnaire was divided into three sections
labeled A-
C. Section A consisted of demographic data such
as gender,
religion, marital status, educational
qualification, years of
service, section B Consist of open-ended Question
and a 23-
items Closed Ended Constructed Question of Yes
or No, as
well as Regular, Often, I Cannot Remember
and key
informant interviews was conducted. The
validity of the
instrument was done by an intelligence expert,
one expert in
criminal investigation and one specialist in
forensic
investigation. Their suggestions and
recommendations given
were integrated into the final draft of the
instrument.
Reliability of the instrument was done using the
test-retest
technique with 25 criminal investigators not
part of the
study. Using Pearson product Moment
Correlation a
coefficient of 0.81 was obtained indicating the
suitability of
the instrument.
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Research
95
Data Collection and Analysis
The instrument was administered directly on
the
respondents. Filled copies of the questionnaire
were
retrieved after one week of administration. Key
informant
interviews were done based on the
arrangement with the
respondents. In all, data was collected over a
two-month
period. Data collected were analyzed using
frequency count
and percentage for the research questions,
while the
hypotheses were tested using ANOVA at 0.05
level of
significance.
Result

Table 2
Demographic information
Frequency
Percentage
Gender
Male
161
85.19
Female
28
14.81
Marital status
Married
182
96.30
Single
7
3.70
Years in service
10 years
28
14.8
20 years
28
14.8
15 years
35
18.5
25 years
98
51.9
Role
Sergeant
7
3.70
Sergeant major inspector of police
21
11.11
Assistant superintendent
91
48.15
Deputy superintendent
42
22.22
Superintendent
21
11.11
Chief superintendent
7
3.70
Sergeant
7
3.70
Religion
Christian
119
63.00
Islam
50
26.5
Others
20
10.6
Educational qualification
Secondary
40
20.6
Bachelor
113
59.8
Masters
35
18.5
Doctoral
1
0.5
Professional affiliation
Ican
6
16.7
Anan
28
77.8
Others
2
5.6

Research Question One: To what extent do

the police
investigators use forensic evidence for
investigation in Nigeria?
criminal
 Table 3: Used of Forensic

Evidence by Police Investigators Used forensic evidence

Frequency
Percent
No
35
18.5
Yes
153
81.0
I cannot remember
1
.5
Total
189
100.0

From the result presented in table 3, it is

shown that the
majority (81%) of the sample reported that they
forensic evidence in the conduct of
have used
their responsibility.

Table 4: Types and frequency

of forensic evidence used by police investigators

.
Types Of Forensic Evidence
Frequency
Regular
Often
Sometimes
Can’t Remember
Total
Biological
21 (17.65%)
7 (5.88%)
84 (70.59%)
7 (5.88%)
119
Ballistics
42 (22.2%)
7 (3.7%)
84 (44.4%)
7 (3.7%)
140
Finger
49 (25.9%)
14 (7.4%)
63 (33.3%)
14 (7.4%)
140
Drug
41 (32.80%)
0
77 (61.60%)
7 (3.7%)
125
Trace
35 (18.5%)
0
63 (33.3%)
35 (18.5%)
133
Electronic
62 (32.8%)
14 (7.4%)
21 (11.1%)
42 (22.2%)
139
Impression
77 (40.7%)
14 (7.4%)
28 (14.8%)
28 (14.8%)
147

The result as shown in table 3 and 4

indicated that the
majority of respondents indicated that they
have used
forensic evidence in their investigations. From
table 4, it
was further shown that the most used forensic
evidence is
impression, while the least used is biological
evidence.
Research Question Two: What are the challenges
in the use
of forensic evidence for criminal investigation in
Nigeria?
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Research
96
Table 5: Challenges in the use of forensic investigations
S/N
Challenges
Yes (%)
No (%)
Total
1
Lack of power supply
171 (90.5)
18 (9.5)
189
2
Outdated Equipment
175 (92.6)
14 (7.4)
189
3
Lack of Government willpower
175 (92.6)
14 (7.4)
189
4
Inadequate training of officers
147 (77.8)
42 (22.2)
189
5
Low Enthusiasm among officers
147 (77.8)
42 (22.2)
189
6
Political, ethnic and religious interference
161 (85.2)
28 (14.8)
189
7
Inadequate incentives
166 (87.8)
23 (12.2)
189
9
Poor database system
161 (85.2)
28 (14.8)
189

On the basis of the result obtained, it can be

stated that
greatest challenges against effective usage of
forensic
investigation in Nigeria are outdated equipment
and lack of
governmental willpower, while the least
challenges were
inadequate training of officers and low
enthusiasm among
officers. This was further corroborated by the key
informant
interview
 All these materials you are seen I met them

here 27 years
ago they are outdated but we are still manually
using them
which is the wrong compared to what is
happening in
other developed countries no equipment to
work. (O. C
Latent Print)
Another respondent posited that

This is 9 am no light in the office because

of no power
supply (light). We are waiting for other officers
come so
we contribute to buy fuel every office has its
own
generator as you can see outside there. They
bought and
fueled by themselves by so how can you
work or these
evidence without power. (Head of General
Investigation).
On the aspect of training, the result revealed
that it was a
significant challenge. From the key informant
interview, a
respondent indicated that:

We are not trained in forensic skill and

competencies so
many officers don't even know what forensic
evidence is or
how to get it all most of the training we
receive are all
theoretically base no practical knowledge of
forensics.
However, when money is released for training
these
monies only exist in papers but are not used or
disbursed
for the purpose It was meant for that is what
I call the
Nigerians factor. (Sectional Head of Homicide
Unit)
Research Question Four: How can police
performance in
solving murders be improved especially high
profile ones?
Table 6: Strategies for improving police performance in
solving high profile murder cases.
S/N
Improving police performance in high profile cases
Yes (%)
No (%)
Total
1
Discourage political and ethnic interference
182 (96.3)
7 (3.7)
189
2
Expedited judicial process
189 (100)
0
189
3
Improve collaboration with other law enforcement
agencies
182 (96.3)
7 (3.7)
189
4
Specialized training on murder
182 (96.3)
7 (3.7)
189
5
Protect witness in high profile cases
182 (96.3)
7 (3.7)
189
6
Use of expert witness on high profile cases
189 (100)
0
189
7
Provide special incentives for officers
182 (96.3)
7 (3.7)
189

The data indicate that a significant majority of

respondents
regards all the seven actions listed as capable of
helping to
improve police performance. From the informant
interview,
these actions were further explored and
suggestion offered
which include:

We need to be adequately trained in the area

of forensic
especially in crime scene management to
avoid
destroying or contaminating the scene by
officers
themselves before forensic experts arrive some
us don’t
even know what to look for at the crime
scene. (OC
Homicide Unit)
We need up to date DNA, blood, fingerprints
database of
all Nigerian which can be achieved by
transferring
INEC fingerprint database during the voter
card
registration exercise, and every year
thousands of
students are sent to NYSC they do thumb
printing such
database can equally be transferred to us while
we can
be building our own database on the cases
we handle
every day until we have a comprehensive
database to
match criminals as the need arises (Head of
Forensic
Unit).
Adequate fund in form of allowances should be
made
available for investigator to avoid investigator
leaving
at the mercy of families, friends and even
enemies of
victims during investigation because in such
situation
where they are paying transporting and other
logistics
are provided by the families or friends of the
victims or
suspect from my 28 years of experience to a
great extent
the outcome of such investigation is influenced by
those
who funds it which does not reflect or reveal the
actual
criminal and so in many occasions defenseless
Nigerians
has be jailed wrongly for a crime they did not
commit
because the investigators will be acting in
whatever the
family or friends says or suggest but when
there are
adequate funds and logistics available for
investigating
officers such undue influence will be averted
for
optimum performance especially in murder
cases.
(Sectional Head General Investigation)
In Nigeria, investigations are not protected talk
more of
witness and the investigating officers or the
evidence this
has affected the public willingness to give
information
on what they know, saw or heard about the
crime or
even stand as a witness with fear of been
attacked by the
perpetrators such crime because their security
is not
guaranteed, there are cases were witness and
officers
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Research
97
are killed at the verge of testifying in court.
Mostly when
top echelons are involved in such case to
make the
evidence and suspects and their sponsors of such
crime
to ensure they are not prosecuted of such
crimes; from
my experience until investigations, witness
and
investigators identity are kept secret so many
murder
cases will remain unsolved. (CSP Retired).
Hypotheses
Hypothesis One: There is no significant
difference in the
extent of the use of forensic evidence based
on years of
experience.
Table 7: ANOVA of forensic evidence usage based on
years of experience

N
Mean
Std. Deviation
Source of Variation
Sum of Squares
df
Mean Square
F
P
10 years
28
16.1786
3.99123
Between-Group
29.891
3
9.964
0.456
0.713
15 years
35
16.9714
5.90357
20 years
28
17.6071
3.87145
Within Groups
4043.104
185
25 years
98
17.0816
4.56719
21.855
total
189
17.0053
4.65455
Total
4072.995
188

As the result displayed in Table 7 indicates,

it can be
observed that those with a minimum of 10
years of
experience reported that a mean of 16.17 (SD =
3.99), those
with 15 years reported a mean of 16.97 (SD =
5.90), those
with 20 years reported a mean of 17.60 (SD =
3.87), while
those with 25 years of experience reported a
mean of 17.08
(SD = 4.56). Furthermore, it is shown that when
ANOVA
analysis was conducted an F-value of 0.456 at
3 and 185
degrees of freedom with a corresponding p-value
of 0.713.
Since the p-value obtained was greater than
the chosen
alpha of 0.05, it, therefore, indicates that years of
experience
does not significantly determine the usage of
forensic
evidence among police investigators in Nigeria.
Hypothesis Two: There is no significant
relationship
between usage of forensic evidence and the
challenges faced
by police investigators during high profile
murder
investigations.
Table 8: Relationship between forensic evidence usage
and challenges of high profile investigation
Variables
Mean
SD
Df
r
p
Sig
Usage of Forensic Evidence
14.23
4.87
188
-0.672
0.003
0.05
Challenges of High Profile Murder investigations
18.72
3.21

From the analysis done in table 8, it can be

observed that
when the mean values of usage of forensic
evidence by
police investigators (14.23) and that of the
challenges faced
(18.72) were correlated using Pearson Product
Moment
Correlation, an r-value of -0.672 was obtained
with a
corresponding p-value of 0.003 which was
less than the
chosen alpha of 0.05. This result, therefore,
indicates that
there is a significant negative relationship
between usage of
forensic evidence and the challenges faced in
resolving high
profile murder cases. This result means that an
increase in
the challenges faced by police officers leads
to a
corresponding decrease in the usage of
forensic
investigation.
Discussion of Findings
As the result showed, the majority of the
respondents
indicated that there have used forensic evidence.
Among the
various forensic evidence used are fingerprint,
biological,
drug, and impression. The result that other forms
of forensic
evidence such as biological trace, and ballistics
might be
attributed to the technical challenges involved
in using
them. The result that impression evidence is the
most used
among the forensic evidence might be attributed
to the fact
that most criminal investigation departments
have access to
biometric records that comes with the
mandatory
registration. The result obtained from this study is
similar to
that gotten by Omodeleola (2014) [6] who
showed that
despite the understanding of forensic
investigation, Nigerian
police officers do not efficiently use it for the
resolution
gruesome murder case across the country.
Regarding the challenges faced in the use of
forensic
evidence in criminal investigations, it was
reported that
outdated equipment, lack of government
willpower and
inefficient power supply were significant factors
responsible
for the continued poor integration of forensic
evidence in
the process of criminal investigation. This
result is not
surprising but expected as the majority of
criminal
investigations which could have been resolved
is often
inhibited by political, ethnic and religious
interference. This
was a common theme highlighted in the key
informant
interview as most persons reported that in their
attempt to
resolve especially criminal problems, they are
often
prevented by their superiors from touching
specific areas
and redeployed without reason. Another reason
advanced is
the lack of adequate database for record
keeping on crime
reporting. Most of the respondents cited
instance were
criminal evidence was lost especially when
they are most
needed. This result is similar to that obtained
by
Chinwokwu (2013) [2] who found out that lack of
modern
investigative tools and facilities, as well as
corruption
stemming from interference, is a critical factor
responsible
for the poor utilization of forensic evidence
within the
Nigerian criminal investigation phase.
On the way forward for addressing the identified
challenges,
it can be seen that the respondents agreed that
provision of
adequate training, ensuring transparency,
provision of
standard equipment, the establishment of
specialized units
and collaboration with other law enforcement
agents can
greatly improve on the level of the use of forensic
evidence
among criminal investigators. While most of
the
respondents reported the use of forensic
evidence, the
absence of current skills and tools on crime
detection and
control. One other element that figured
significantly in
suggestions on how to solve murder cases was
the need for
the improved judicial process. During the
course of the
interview with key informants, it was reported
that the delay
in the judicial process and the challenge of
using forensic
evidence in the judicial process is a factor
that prevents
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Research
98
many individuals from effectively using forensic
evidence.
Yilwa et al (2015) [9] indicated that delay in
the justice
process is a factor limiting effective
implementation of
forensic investigation in solving criminal murder
cases.
Recommendations
Based on the findings obtained and the discussion
presented,
the following recommendations are made:
1. The government, especially at the federal
and state
levels, should provide adequate funding
forensic
evidence training and the purchase of world-
class
facilities and equipment to meet up global best
practices
in the effective utilization of forensic evidence
in
criminal investigations.
2. Criminal investigators should be provided
needed liberty
and training for them to undertake their
investigations,
especially in high profile murder cases. This
freedom
should ensure that high-profile criminal cases
are
conducted speedily without political, religious or
ethnic
interference.
3. Furthermore, the judicial process should be
made
efficient and robust to ensure that cases in
which
forensic evidence are used are speedily
executed. This
should also include the protection of witnesses in
cases
where their safety can be compromised.
4. The Police Service Commission should
ensure
transparency in the recruitment, deployment,
and
training of officers with a special focus on
forensic
evidence gathering and utilization.
Furthermore,
experience, seniority, and gallantry should be
adequately
implemented as a criterion for promotion of
officers.
5. An inter-agency framework for the
collection and
utilization of forensic evidence involving not
only
officers of the police officers but other sister
agencies
including the civil defense, custom, immigration,
and the
armed forces, so as to ensure information
collection and
sharing.
6. Training of officers in the area of forensic
skills and
competencies to meet up global best practices in
the area
of criminal investigation.
7. Extensive mass education should be carried
out in order
to sensitize them on the necessity of
avoiding crime
scene, in order not to contaminate vital forensic
evidence
that would facilitate improve and efficient
criminal
investigations.
References
1. Bennett WW, Hess KM. Criminal investigation
(7th ed.).
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson, 2004.
2. Chinwokwu EC. The challenges of conflict
management
in a democratic society: An overview of
insecurity in
Nigeria. American International Journal of
Social
Sciences. 2013; 2(3):93-107.
3. Ikuteyijo L. The challenges of community
policing in
Nigeria. International Journal of Police Science
and
Management. 2009; 11(3):285-293
4. Kpae G, Adishi E. Community policy in
Nigeria:
Challenges and prospect. International Journal of
Social
Sciences and Management Research. 2007;
3(3):47-53.
5. Lambrechts D. Pollex. Servamus, 94, October,
2001, 93.
6. Omodeleola TG. Police community violence in
Lagos,
Lagos: Center for law reinforcement education.
In
Arase, E.S., Iheanyi P.O.I (Eds.), Policing Nigeria in
the
21st Century. Ibadan Spectrum Books Limited,
2014.
7. Schmalleger F. Criminal justice today: An
introductory
text for 21st century: Texas: Pearson, 2005.
8. Utebor S, Ekpimah E. Violence, cybercrime
threats to
Nigeria: Police Minister. The Punch Newspaper,
2010,
11.
9. Yilwa OA, Maikaje PA, Vantsawa MM, Adeyemi
VN.
Application prospects of forensic and DNA
fingerprinting technologies for the profiling of
officer
cadets in the Nigerian Defense Academy
Kaduna-
 Nigeria. Journal of Forensic Research, 2015.
Retrieved
from https://www.omicsonline.org/conference-
proceedings/2157-7145-C1-023-012.pdf
Citations (1)
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