Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has raised alarms regarding the high number of criminal cases lost in Nigerian courts. He noted that thousands of cases fail annually, not due to a lack of suspects, but because investigators provide evidence that fails to survive judicial examination. During the 2026 Global Forensics Summit in Lagos, the governor, represented by Mrs. Aderinsola Olanrewaju, identified this issue as a critical forensic gap and urged security agencies to integrate forensic science and intelligence tools into their work.
Highlighting the complexities of crime in a state with over 22 million residents, Sanwo-Olu mentioned threats such as cybercrime, identity theft, and digital fraud. He pointed to the 2017 launch of West Africa’s first DNA and Forensic Centre as a key effort by Lagos to bring scientific rigor to legal proceedings. The four-day summit, hosted by the International Academy of Forensics and The Guardian Newspaper, aims to enhance justice delivery through advanced technology.
Key figures at the summit, including the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Kazeem Alogba, and Justice Prof. Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye, echoed these sentiments. They argued that as technology fuels modern crime, investigative techniques must shift toward data analytics, digital forensics, and objective scientific evidence to ensure fair outcomes in the justice system.
