Don’t tamper with crime scenes, Abuja police chief tells Nigerians

The Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory, Wilson Inalegu, has said that the police’s inability to solve many crimes in Nigeria is largely because Nigerians often tamper with crime scenes.

In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES Tuesday, Mr. Inalegu recounted how many Nigerians temper with evidence in crime scenes, thereby compromising investigations into such cases.

Making particular reference to the robbery attack at the home of the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mohammed Uwais, the FCT police boss said before forensic experts arrived to study the crime scene workmen had already tampered with key evidences.

“We have problem resolving serious crime because many a time, Nigerians tamper with key evidences in crime scenes,” Mr. Inalegu lamented. “In the case of the robbery at the home of the former CJ, artisans who were working on an inverter in the compound the previous day went and tempered with the scene of the crime thus compromising our investigations.

“Robbers entered the home of the former CJ from the back of the house but they did not hurt anybody and didn’t take anything away.

“But just as we mobilise our team to collect sensitive evidence from the crime scenes, we found that the area has been seriously compromised by persons who might not have known the implications of their actions. Please, help us tell Nigerians not to temper with anything on crime scenes. When crime is committed, people should desist from touching or going into the scene.”

Mr. Inalegu said the command has acquired sophisticated forensic equipment and could resolve any crime if people stopped compromising evidences in crime scenes.

Armed robbers in the early hours of Tuesday stormed the official residence Mr. Uwais, and carted away “valuables”.

The robbers were said to have visited the home of the ex-CJN in Asokoro area of Abuja, between 1am and 2am.