Forensic Toxicology and Biochemical Evidence in Medico-legal Cases at Pathology Departments in South South Nigeria

Forensic toxicology and biochemical evidence analysis in medico-legal investigations are critically important for administering justice in poisoning deaths, drug-related fatalities, and cases of environmental chemical exposure, yet the professional capacity for forensic biochemical analysis in South South Nigerian pathology departments is underdeveloped. This study evaluates the professional capacity, current practice, and challenges of forensic toxicology and biochemical evidence provision in medico-legal cases at pathology departments in four tertiary hospitals across Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, and Akwa Ibom states. Structured professional interviews with forensic pathologists, toxicologists, and medical laboratory scientists, combined with case record review of two hundred medico-legal autopsy cases from 2021 to 2024, form the primary data sources. Case record analysis examines the frequency of toxicological screening requests, types of analyses performed, turnaround times, and reporting completeness. Findings reveal that routine comprehensive toxicological screening, covering alcohol, carbon monoxide, common pharmaceuticals, and heavy metals, was performed in fewer than 30 percent of medico-legal autopsies across all facilities. Alcohol determination by blood ethanol measurement was the most consistently available forensic biochemical test. Heavy metal analysis for suspected poisoning cases was referred externally in all facilities due to absent atomic absorption spectrophotometry capacity. Turnaround times for available toxicological analyses ranged from three days to six weeks. The study recommends investment in forensic laboratory infrastructure, a South South regional forensic toxicology network, and professional training in forensic sample chain-of-custody procedures. Keywords: forensic toxicology, biochemical evidence, medico-legal, South South Nigeria, pathology.