By Ademola Ajao, Reporting
A Professor of Psychology at the University of Ibadan, Prof Benjamin Ehigie, has asserted that the Nigeria Police Force lacks the critical equipment and infrastructure required to conduct in-depth criminal investigations.
Prof Ehigie made the assertion on Thursday while delivering the 2026 University Lecture titled “The Paradox of Human Behaviour: Behavioural Measurement and Assessment (Psychometrics)” at Trenchard Hall, University of Ibadan.
According to him, the Nigeria Police should not be unduly criticised for investigative lapses, noting that the challenge is not a lack of professional competence but the absence of adequate facilities and modern investigative tools.
“The problem is not that they do not have the skills,” he said. “The facilities are simply not there.”
Drawing from personal experience, Prof Ehigie recounted an incident during his sabbatical in the United States involving the disappearance of a child. He explained that although the police initially searched nearby forests with sniffer dogs without success, the breakthrough came through the use of an advanced criminal database.
He said the police relied on records of convicted offenders who were under post-release restrictions, limiting them to specific locations. By analysing the database of individuals with a history of child-related offences within the area, investigators noticed that one such offender was unaccounted for.
Further checks revealed that the individual had relocated to another area. He was subsequently traced, invited for interrogation and later confessed to committing the crime.
The missing child, he admitted, had been buried alive beneath a staircase.
Prof Ehigie emphasised that the successful resolution of the case was made possible through effective criminal profiling and comprehensive databases, which he described as essential tools for modern policing.
Reflecting on the contrast, he questioned the frequent criticism of the Nigeria Police, reiterating that the force possesses the required skills but remains hampered by inadequate infrastructure, technology and investigative resources.
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