The Nigeria Police Reform and Utilisation of Forensic Science: Has the Latter Been Part of the Former?

The first formal introduction of forensic science into the Nigeria Police work was more than three decades ago. Despite the benefits that can be realised from using the science at different levels of case management, improvement on forensic facilities and their utilization in police duties was not given due consideration in current police reform activities in the country. This paper therefore explored and critically reviewed 46 works and two policy documents related to police reform in Nigeria with a specific aim of understanding whether forensic science application has actually been part of the reform. The paper is thus a narrative review. After the review, it was found that forensic science utilization has not been properly incorporated into the Nigeria's police reform activities. It is therefore recommended that future policy documents on Nigeria Police reform should clearly include the provision and application of forensic science in various police work, especially criminal investigations. Also, adequate forensic science facilities with commensurate training be provided to the police, and that a positive culture regarding the application of forensic science in their activities should be fostered.