IGP tasks Universities to research on crime fighting gadgets

www.odogwublog.com reports that the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris today challenged Nigerian Universities to undertake researches targeted at developing state-of-the-art crime fighting gadgets suitable to crime peculiar to the modern day society.

Idris spoke in Awka, Anambra, while declaring open an international Forensic Science and Criminal Justice Symposium organized by Forensic Science Unit of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, in conjunction with Nebraska Institute of Forensic Science, USA.

He said the acquisition of expensive fabricated gadgets remains a huge challenge facing the Nigerian police in combating crimes and criminality in the country.

The IG represented by the Deputy Inspector- General of Police in charge of State Criminal Investigation Department at the police headquarters, Hyacinth Dagala, said the Force as the lead internal security agency, is poised to providing a secure world not just for this generation but for the generations to come.

His words: "The challenge faced by law enforcement in developing countries like ours is in the acquisition of these gadgets as they are very expensive, fabricated by the developed countries and thus training in most cases are done outside the shores of Nigeria, which unarguably leaves a huge drain on our lean resources. 

"The Force is currently establishing a forensic unit in Lagos and Abuja, which would be equipped with state of the art crime fighting tools, as well as a cyber crime unit to curb digital crimes with personnel carefully selected and trained outside the shores of Nigeria in collaboration with our development partners".

He also disclosed the training of young men and women by  the Nigerian Police Academy  currently going on in Wudil, Kano for a five year course with speciality in different crime related areas.

Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Joseph Ahaneku said the academia are ready to offer themselves, their services and their profession for the promotion of forensic science, saying it would serve as a veritable tool to fight crime and criminality in the country.

  

In his paper titled: ‘The Importance of Forensic Testing Integrity in Criminal Justice Dispensation’ Ahaneku argued that if Nigeria is to be able to handle the criminal and security challenges confronting the country, then it must increasingly rely on forensic science.