The Lagos State House of Assembly has passed a bill for establishing the Deoxyribo-Nucleic Acid (DNA) and Forensic centre to support criminal investigations, law enforcement, and preservation of evidence into law.
The bill was passed by the House after the third reading at plenary with all lawmakers in attendance giving their approvals.
Part of the centre objective is to provide the use and regulation of DNA based technology to carry out profiling or analysis in Lagos State.
The centre will also carry out other forensic disciplines including, toxicology, drug chemistry, finger print examination, firearms examination, tool mark examination, ballistics, trace evidence analysis, questioned document examination and digital forensics to obtain evidence relevant to the investigation of criminal offences.
It will however, provide for the use of DNA profiles in the investigation of crime and the use of such profiles in proving the innocence or guilt of persons and it will also provide for the conditions under which the samples for DNA profiles may be retained or destroyed.
Meanwhile, The bill will give powers to the centre to take specified bodily samples from certain categories of persons for the purposes of DNA analysis, collect, examine, document and preserve evidence which can later be used in the identification of offenders amongst others.
The bill will also allows the centre decode family ties and relationships of individuals in order to establish identity as well as the identification of abandoned or disputed children and other related issues.
The centre is expected to recommend methods for optimum use of DNA techniques and technologies for administration of justice recall that The report on the bill had been adopted at an earlier sitting presided over by Speaker Mudashiru Obasa before it was passed earlier today.
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