Establishing a Comprehensive Forensic Biological Profile Reference Database for the Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa-Fulani Ethnic Groups Using Three-Dimensional Computed Tomography Osteometrics

Forensic biological profiling from skeletal remains relies on population-specific osteometric reference data for accurate sex determination, age estimation, stature reconstruction, and ancestry assessment. The absence of validated Nigerian ethnic population reference databases has severely limited the accuracy and admissibility of forensic anthropological evidence in Nigerian medicolegal proceedings. This study aims to establish a comprehensive forensic biological profile reference database for the three largest Nigerian ethnic groups using three-dimensional computed tomography osteometrics. A multisite prospective design will be employed across six tertiary health facilities spanning the South West, South East, and North West geopolitical zones to ensure ethnic representation. Three-dimensional computed tomography scans from living adult patients will be used to obtain osteometric measurements from the skull, pelvis, femur, tibia, humerus, and radius for 900 subjects, 300 from each ethnic group, equally distributed by sex. Measurements will include standard craniometric and postcranial osteometric variables. Discriminant function analysis and machine learning classification algorithms will be applied to develop biological profiling equations. Cross-validation will determine their accuracy. This database will constitute a foundational contribution to Nigerian forensic anthropology, supporting accurate medicolegal identification across courts, morgues, and disaster victim identification operations.

Keywords: forensic biological profile, osteometrics, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa-Fulani