United Kingdom To Fund EFCC’s Forensic Lab With £500,000

The United Kingdom National Crime Agency has announced that it is funding a forensic lab for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) billed to cost £500,000.

Paddy Kerr, International Manager of the British antigraft agency, made this known while during a two-day capacity building workshop organised by the U.K. National Crime Agency for all the zonal heads of EFCC in Abuja on Tuesday.

Mr. Kerr, who described EFCC’s Digital Forensic Laboratory as a “Centre of Excellence” for every law enforcement agency in Nigeria, said the lab is to enable the agency ethically and lawfully extract evidence from digital devices.

“We want to look at the skill gaps that the EFCC currently posses if it does posses any, look at the training that we need to fill those gaps, that in itself will provide a catalyst with which to provide the momentum of anti-corruption activities,” he said.

Ben Ikani, Director of Forensics, EFCC, commended the UK government’s support for the Commission’s fight against corruption in Nigeria, describing the workshop as “significant”.