The Police Command in Oyo State in collaboration with Civil Society Organisations(CSO) have called for integration of modern forensic practices into policing method to ensure effective gender crime investigation and prosecution
The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Johnson Adenola, made the call at a day capacity building on forensics in gender specific crime investigation and prosecution jointly sponsored by La Vie Mot Global Mission aka Living Word Mission(LIWOM) and Savingcross Justicepoint Foundation(SJF) for selected police officers.
The CP, while declaring the workshop open on Tuesday in Ibadan, said integration of modern forensic practices into policing methods would empower personnel to serve with excellence, integrity, and professionalism.
Forensics is a scientific test or technique used in connection with the detection of crime.
The theme of the workshop was “Forensics: the Path to Effective Gender Specific Crime Investigation and Prosecution”
CP Adenola noted that the importance of forensic science in criminal investigation and prosecution remained paramount, adding that forensics evidence has proven to be instrumental in solving crimes, especially, gender specific ones.
According to him, leveraging on forensic tools and techniques could substantially enhance investigation and prosecution outcomes.
“The theme of the training resonates deeply with our administration’s commitment to enhancing our policing capabilities. Our eight point strategic plan as highlighted in my inaugural speech, prioritises enhancing police capacity through training and development.
This initiative aims to modernise and professionalise our policing practices with a focus on enhancing investigative skills as facts to ensure justice, safety and security for all citizens, “he said.
The training facilitator, Prof. Uwom Eze, a Forensic Pathologist and Clinical Forensic Physician University College Hospital(UCH), Ibadan said that many cases died in the court because the evidences were not credible on technical grounds or due to contamination of evidence.
He urged gender desk officers to align with modern approach of addressing sexual violence issues so that citizens would be sure of their privacy in the hand of police officer handling their case, noting that the attitude and approach of officers must not further traumatize victims.
Earlier, the Executive Director, Savingcross Justicepoint Foundation, Mrs Oluwaseun Folajuwon-Banjo, said that motivation for sponsoring the workshop was deeply rooted in LIWOM & SJF Consortium’s mission to promote justice, dignity and protection for the vulnerable especially women, children and survivors of violence.
We believe that justice begins not just in the courtroom but from the very first point of contact, which is often the police officers.
“This training is designed to strengthen the capacity of law enforcement to conduct survivor-centered and trauma-informed investigations, apply forensic tools responsibly and uphold the rights and dignity of juvenile offenders and survivors throughout the justice process.
“At Savingcross Justicepoint Foundation, we believe that a justice system that listens, protects, and empowers is not just ideal, but a possibility. And we are honoured to partner with the Nigerian Police to move one step closer to that reality, ” she said.
Similarly, the Country Lead, LIWOM, Mr Marcus Williams, said that most times, some of the evidence for prosecution of alleged sexual offenders gets lost while some prosecutorial strength gets destroyed because the officer handling the case did not know the right thing to do in complex situations hence the support for the training.
Forensics helps during investigation into the causal factors of such cases, preventing violence against persons and identifying who to prosecute.
“We believe that the training will bring synergy and collaborative environment where all the impediments and bottlenecks against efforts to get justice for victims of sexual violence will be taking out completely, “he said.
