The Lagos Forensic Symposium (LFS; www.laforensic.org) organizing invites you to attend the 2022 Symposium. LFS 2022 will be held at The Providence by Mantis, 12A Oba Akinjobi Way, Ikeja, GRA, Lagos, Nigeria, from October 19 – 20, 2022.

LFS is an international forensic symposium organized by the Lagos State Government, Lagos State Ministry of Justice, Lagos State DNA & Forensic Center, ITSI – Biosciences, LLC and the German Agency for International Development (GIZ). It provides a platform where leading forensic scientists and other stakeholders interact and exchange knowledge and experience.

The core mission of LFS is to bring law enforcement, judiciary, lawyers, university faculty, forensic scientists, medical doctors, nurses, Immigration services, correctional services, social services, press and other stakeholders together, to discuss local, regional and global crime trends, and exchange information on how forensic science can be applied in the African setting to support the criminal justice system.

Each symposium features leading experts with cognate experience in different aspects of forensics. Over 200 participants from 18 Countries attended the 2021 symposium. Participants included Senior Government Officials, Judges, Police, Emergency Service workers, Forensic Pathologists, Prosecutors, Defense Attorneys, Customs and Immigration Services, Correctional Services, Military, Non-Government Organizations, University Lecturers, Students and Press.

LFS focuses on forensic practice and its application to resolve real cases. Presentations this year will cover the following areas:

• Forensic Evidence in Court
• Murder Investigations
• Sexual Assault Investigations
• Disaster Victim Identification
• Suicide Investigations
• Fire and Accident Investigations

To encourage the participation of stakeholders there is no fee to attend LFS 2022. However, registration is mandatory.  Space is extremely limited so act fast. Registration will close once the number of registered participants hits 130. If you are interested in presenting a paper, please send a title for consideration to info@laforensic.org  no later than September 23, 2022.

Registration is open. To register please go to www.laforensic.org and register by October 14, 2022. Please contact us by email (info@laforensic.org) or phone (+234-814-741-1921) if you have any question.

*You already know that DNA testing has proved to be a solution for human identification in many situations *

*In Crime Scene Investigation – to link suspects to crime scenes and exonerate the innocent *

In medicine – to test an individual’s predisposition to a disease, disease prognosis and enable precision medicine

In ancestry – to understand your family lineage

In Forensics – to resolve criminal cases by identifying “who” committed the crime even when there was no eye witness

These are sensitive and extremely serious areas. We offer DNA tests to ascertain specific facts; hence the result must be accurate. If you rule out the reliability and accuracy, it’s safe to say there’s no reason to do the test.

Now to the question
Is a DNA Test reliable ?

DNA testing in itself is reliable but samples don’t analyze themselves and so even though the test is reliable, the humans involved in running the test from the collection of sample to the analysis can make mistakes and equipment can malfunction.

Working with LSD&FC, we do not make mistakes, not because we are not humans but because we have standards and quality assurance and quality control processes in place that guards against mistakes, and if mistakes occur the systems in place will detect it and a corrective action will be implemented. Our process starts from the very beginning, when samples are collected and continues to the point when results are issued. There are multiple levels of checks and verifications because we know that a “false positive” or a “false negative” result can have a devastating and life changing effect on a family. That is how much of a big deal DNA testing is to us because we understand that there are grave implications for releasing an inaccurate test result

So Is DNA testing reliable?

*YES, DNA testing is reliable.
Tests performed by the Lagos State DNA & Forensic Center are reliable and results can be trusted.*

Need any help or answers to questions? Do not hesitate to reach us at 08147411921 or info@lsdfc.org.

Dear Reader,

I have a question for you.

What do you do if the alleged father or mother questions the accuracy or validity of a DNA result you issued? Can the paternity DNA result you issue be questioned? The answer is Yes.

Remember that if a child’s paternity is in question, it is more likely that the alleged father of the child has reasons to doubt the paternity of that child. Most times the mothers don’t question the paternity of the child they call their own.

You would agree with me that this will be a “not so pleasant” situation for both alleged father and mother. Since DNA testing can help answer such a question, it is our duty, to help answer the question without getting caught in the crossfire.

So as the bridge between their paternity question and the answer, you might encounter situations where a DNA report makes one party unhappy, and as a result the unhappy party will start questioning you about the accuracy of the test.

If this ever happens, don’t panic, stay calm. CTS will never change the result for any reason or compromise her very high standards because we have no reason to alter any report to favour any party and altering results to create a “false positive” or “false negative” outcome can have very serious and life changing implications, or even death in extreme cases. All you have to do is reach out to us and we will be more than happy to speak professionally to the client and help them understand that science cannot lie and we have no benefit to alter the report.

Remember, whether or not a DNA paternity report is what is expected or not, things will not be the same again for the parties involved. So we don’t take sides, we just provide an honest answer to any question that DNA can answer.

Till next week dear reader, stay energized.