ADF STAFF
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is improving its ability to investigate, arrest and prosecute criminals, including those who traffic illicit goods.
The NAF graduated 15 people from the Advanced Crime Scene Investigation Course at the 057 Provost Investigation Group in Lagos. The intensive four-week course taught Air Force personnel how to approach crime fighting scientifically.
The course covered topics such as evidence recovery, crime scene photography and fingerprinting. Graduates learned how to lift and preserve DNA evidence and how to present evidence during legal proceedings.
During the graduation ceremony, Air Vice Marshal Lawal Alao told graduates that this training was part of a larger push to position the NAF as a professional and disciplined fighting force.
In 2018, the NAF opened a remodeled and fully equipped forensic crime laboratory. At the inauguration ceremony, then-Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris said evidence preservation is key to law enforcement. “Without the objective evidence obtained through scientific analysis, many crime cases would have gone unsolved and the perpetrators unpunished,” he said. “It is thus a veritable tool for not only detection and prosecution, but also deterrence.”
He applauded efforts by the NAF to make strides in law enforcement. “It is a testimony of the Nigerian Air Force leadership’s commitment to push the boundaries and improve on the methodologies and technological platforms to detect and analyze evidence of crime in the service,” he said.