14 November 2009
Lagos — Following increase in the rate of paternity dispute in the country, which has put many families in disarray, Nigerians have been advised to embrace the use of DNA technology to resolve such crisis.
Dr Kola Afolabi who spoke to journalists in his Ikeja, Lagos office yesterday decried a situation where many Nigerians adopt unconventional methods to resolve paternity disputes "when DNA testing will give accurate report about the identity or lineage of the person/persons in dispute."
According to him, 26 per cent of DNA testing done by his Lynx DNA Laboratories in conjunction with World Class DNA Laboratories, USA in the last two years have proved negative, the figure which he described as "very alarming."
He advised Nigerians with identity crisis to employ the technology in solving the crisis instead of resorting to conjecture or violence.
Afolabi, who is also the Medical Director of Ago Medical Centre, said that, "DNA test is not just an ordinary test, rather a lifetime necessity." He disclosed that the test can be conducted without taking blood sample
He said: "With the introduction of computerised DNA tests, it affords us the opportunity of fastening the whole process, unlike before when it used to take months, if not years to conclude the test of ordinary paternity crisis. I recall vividly that some years ago, two women fought over the biological ownership of a baby at the Lagos UniversityTeaching Hospital.
"Ihe whole tussle degenerated into a serious crisis that took us several months before the result of the DNA test was concluded. But right now, the service we are rendering is to make sure that within three weeks, the issue of paternity can be resolved.
"Essentially, what we do now is to take a sample, send it to our technical partners in the United States and we get result within weeks.
The overall objective of this professional commitment is to transform the DNA technology here in Nigeria and provide identity management solutions to the medical industry and for other financial transactions.
"Apart from doing the test, we also go a step further to register it at the law court like in the United States, which makes it a legal tender. Besides, we do go to the law court to defend our results".
Afolabi continued: "We have resolved a lot of cases in court with our DNA results. Just last month, we were in court to defend the result of a man that is over 70 years, claiming to be a member of another extended family in his own village, whose patriarch died several years ago".
He said that in using DNA technology to fight crime, "the Nigerian Police is now doing its best to totally adopt this crime data base technique. And I think the
National Assembly is also working on how to legislate on it because the essence is that, once somebody is marked for criminal offence, what happens thereafter is that his or her DNA is taken and stored so as to keep track of such a person in the future.
Speaking further on the importance of the test, Dr Afolabi said, "Individuals are also encouraged to come and bank their DNA profile for future purposes. Quiet many people of means have embraced personal DNA data banking in order to resolve potential crisis that may arise when they are no more while others actually resolve the issue of paternity/maternity while they're alive to conclude their will. DNA data bank can be used by various organizations whose members of staff, in their normal course of duties, are exposed to dangers, for example the armed forces, Nigerian police, Nigerian customs, fire fighters and other security agencies.
He also advised people who want to join their parents or carry their children abroad to resolve paternity/maternity issues before visiting embassies for immigration purposes. According to him, "Many people's visa applications have been rejected because of "inconclusive evidence of relationship", a lot of money and psychological distress can be saved by starting the process first by concluding the identity testing.
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