The Auditor-General of the Federation (AuGF), Mr Adolphus Aghughu, has urged auditors and law enforcement officers to leverage on forensic auditing to effectively fight crime.
Aghughu gave the task in Abuja on Thursday at the induction of newly trained forensic examiners by the Computer Forensic Institute of Nigeria (CFIN).
He said that the era of “alleging without evidence” should end, adding that auditors and other crime investigators should be more professional in their work.
“For us at the OAuGF, we feel fulfilled and can boldly say that we have a functional forensic laboratory.
“It is a celebration that in our audits, we can generate electronic evidence. The era of alleging without evidence, preferably, forensic evidence, should end.
“We cannot run away from electronic evidence because all accounting transactions are automated. That is why, for auditors, automated accounting platforms should be a key source of evidence,” he said.
He called for strong synergy between the OAuGF and other anti-corruption agencies to ensure efficiency, accountability and effectiveness of public finance management.
“That is the only way governance will impact on the people,” he said.
Earlier, the Inspector-General of Police (IG-P), Mr Usman Alkali, said that the induction was auspicious, coming at a time when Nigeria was faced with serious security challenges.
Alkali, who was represented by Mr Johnson Kokumo, a Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of Criminal Investigation, said that the security situation called for better policing approach and techniques.
“The way to restore the primacy of the Nigeria Police in internal security architecture of the country is the main challenge ahead of us.
“I am mindful of the yearnings of Nigerians for a police system which will not only assure them of their safety, but also treat them with civility and hold their human rights sacred.
“The leadership of the Nigeria Police understands the importance of forensic in crime management and effective policing,” he said.
The IG-P said that he would continue to provide the highest, possible level of professionalism and responsive leadership to meet the desired aspirations of Nigerians.
“This can only be achieved with training, retraining and exposure of men of the Nigeria police to modern policing techniques, hence the relevance of this certification programme,” he said.
Prof. Peter Olayiwola, the President of the CFIN, decried the existence of inadequate forensic experts and laboratories in Nigeria.
Olayiwola said that availability of adequate forensic laboratories and experts would go a long way to curbing financial crimes and other forms of criminality.
He, however, commended some agencies of government for procuring forensic laboratories to boost their efficiency.
“The best digital forensic laboratory is owned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
“The OAuGF and the Nigeria Police have also established theirs.
“But it is still not enough. We do not have adequate laboratories to cater for our growing population,” he said.
He commended the Nigerian judiciary for taking interest in learning about forensic evidence and electronic data.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that part of the inductees of the CFIN certification were 50 members of staff of the OAuGF, including Aghughu and 40 officers of the Nigeria Police Force.
Three of the inductees from the OAuGF, Olusegun Fadipe, Rabiu Aina and Danjuma Saliu, were also awarded for emerging the best three students in the training. (NAN
