A Critical Examination of Forensic Evidence and Wrongful Conviction in Nigeria: Towards a Post-Conviction Review Framework

Wrongful convictions in which forensic science evidence played a contributory role represent the most severe manifestation of forensic science failure within a criminal justice system, with irreversible consequences for individuals and broader implications for public trust. This doctoral study critically examines the role of forensic evidence in wrongful convictions in Nigeria, developing an original post-conviction review framework incorporating forensic science quality assessment criteria. A multi-method critical analysis design was employed, identifying and analysing sixty cases in which convictions were subsequently reversed through appeal or pardon proceedings between 2010 and 2024 via systematic court record searches across all six geopolitical zones, conducting forensic re-examination of original evidence in fifteen cases where exhibits remained available, and interviewing forty key informants including overturned-conviction defendants, their legal representatives, forensic scientists, and judicial officers. Causal analysis identifies the specific forensic science failures contributing to each wrongful conviction, applying a causal typology encompassing false positive findings, overstated expert testimony, fabricated evidence, and inadequate defence access to forensic examination. Findings demonstrate that forensic science failures were a contributing factor in forty-seven percent of reviewed wrongful convictions, with fingerprint misidentification and bitemark evidence overstatement being the most prevalent specific failure types. An original Nigerian Post-Conviction Forensic Review Framework is developed, specifying triggering criteria, review methodology, evidence re-examination standards, and institutional accountability mechanisms. The study makes original contributions to wrongful conviction scholarship and forensic justice reform advocacy in Nigeria. Keywords: wrongful conviction, forensic evidence failure, post-conviction review, Nigeria, criminal justice reform.