By Emmanuel Nduka
The United States of America has conducted a Forensic Training on Basic Crime Scene Investigation, with Emphasis on Homicides for selected officers of the Nigerian Police Force.
Speaking on Friday at the closing ceremony of the five-day capacity building programme, Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Alkali Baba, charged the officers to be sensitive to facts while carrying out criminal investigation with emphasis on homicides.
Represented by the Assistant IGP, AIG Habu Sani, the Police boss insisted that the purpose for investigation is to bring out the fact to deliver justice to both the victim and the suspect, adding that anything short of this will adversely affect the parties involved.
He noted that the training is a strategic partnership that seeks to improve service delivery among the Nigerian Police in the face of improving global best practises, and stressed that with the level of insecurity in the country, the training could not have come at a better time.
“With this training, the officers have learnt a lot and have been informed on the principles of dealing with crime scene management and forensic is very important because you must preserve a scene before carrying out any investigation, noted that once the scene has been tampered it will be almost impossible to get justice at the end of the day,” he explained.
Charge D’ affairs US Embassy, Kathleen FitzGibbon noted that the training is part of its support to the Nigerian Police as a veritable platform for stakeholders in the police development to brainstorm and fast-track avenues for improvement of the Nigerian Police.
FitzGibbon noted that depending on the need of the force at the time, the US embassy seeks to fill the gaps, as the embassy believes in the importance of the rule of law and the need for the police to successfully perform its duties.
“We send the Nigerian Police to different academy that are in other countries, we have done atrocity prevention training for the police, we work very closely with the bureau. This course is very important because its trains you on how to convict the perpetrators and not the other way roun,” she stated.
Chairman Devongnosis Education Limited, Brig. Gen. Shaljaba who explained that forensic science has increased dramatically in the past 10 years and the Nigerian Police must not be left behind, noted that criminal investigation is crucia,l considering the various challenges facing the Nation.
The training was organised by Devongnosis Education in partnership with the US Embassy in Abuja.
