By Morenike Taire

In a recently released comprehensive report shared by Smart DNA, a Lagos-based DNA testing centre covering trends in Nigeria from July 2023 to June 2024, it has been revealed that there is a significant increase in DNA tests for immigration purposes, closely aligning with the ongoing “Japa” phenomenon, as more Nigerians seek opportunities abroad.

According to the report, the trend suggests a growing number of parents with dual citizenship are processing paperwork for their children’s emigration, reflecting broader societal and economic shifts in the country.

The report also reveals a whopping 27% of DNA paternity tests at the centre returned in the negative in the year under review, confirming earlier reports of Nigeria holding one of the highest rates of paternity fraud.

An earlier 2015, survey conducted by condom manufacturer, Durex, had more or less branded Nigerian married women as the most sexually unfaithful in the world. A few years later in 2018,
the marital fidelity of Nigerian women was again called into question with another report that claimed Nigeria had the second highest rate (30%) of paternity fraud in the world, paternity fraud being the pretence that a man is the legitimate and biological father of a child that isn’t his. In the report’s graphical presentation, Jamaica ranked first with 34.6%, while Canada, the UK and France were on the list with 2.8%, 1.6% and 1.4%, respectively.

These statistics continue not only to send shock waves down the spines of Nigerian men regarding the fidelity of their spouses, they appear indicative of stark cultural shifts, including but not limited to the “japa” phenomenon.

Nwosu, a Nigeria-born individual who migrated to the United States recently joined the statistics, having chosen to file papers for his wife and 3 Nigeria born children, products of his four-year marriage to an Abuja-based young woman.

Nwosu, taking to his Instagram handle, openly lamented his folly in presuming home-based women to be more circumspect than their overseas-based counterparts while advising contemporaries to stick to the women close to their areas of residence.

” If you are not ready to bring your wife to where you are, my brother, stay single”, Nwosu advised.

Long distance marriages, a big problem — forensic pathologist

Long-distance marriages are part of the problem, according to Dr Femi Omotobora, a consultant forensic pathologist currently practising in South Africa, where many Nigerian forensic laboratories send DNA samples for evaluation. Dr Omotobora also told Vanguard that current high negative figures are just a small tip of the iceberg since the majority of people will not even get tested in the first instance.
According to him, paternity fraud poses few dangers from a core medical perspective, even in cases of emergencies or when the need for organ donation arises.

“When you look at it medically, the child who is the result of paternity fraud has the likelihood of inheriting whatever genetic disorders the unknown father has and that’s very dangerous. There is also the danger of marrying a close relative unknowingly, which is genetically undesirable.

For organ or blood donation, close relatives are not necessarily the best matches. Most donations come from organ or blood banks, and tests are done to ensure the best match possible”.

Nigerian women cry foul: “The claims are ridiculous, sensational”.

Confronted with the statistics, several married women who responded to Vanguard on grounds of anonymity vehemently disown the claims, saying they were known for their awe of culture and religion far more than their counterparts anywhere else. Mrs A, who is married with twin girls, quipped, “I can never engage in such and I don’t even know any Nigerian woman who would deliberately engage in paternity fraud”.

Her friend Mrs Y, a recent divorcee with no children, said, “Why is it that everything that has to do with women must be over-sensationalised? The claim that Nigerian women are amongst the most unfaithful is ridiculous. Look at me. My marriage has ended because I could not give birth to children, yet I did not engage in paternity fraud”.

Both women agree that the phenomenon while being common, is unlikely to be deliberate but honest mistakes.

Why women may lie about paternity— Psychiatrist

Popular psychiatrist, Dr Maymunah Kadiri, said a married woman whose husband is in a better financial condition than the actual father of her child, might lie about the paternity of that child so the child can get the opportunity of a better life.

“Also, the fear of embarrassment and the consequences of divorce could make her lie about the paternity of the child. Due to the pressure from society to have children, some women become desperate if their husbands have fertility issues and thus go ahead to reproduce with someone else and pass it off as their husband’s child”.

Kadiri warns that such children risk growing up with issues such as abandonment, lack of trust and also a sense of identity loss, while for the defrauded fathers, the implications of discovering the truth could range from resentment to loss of self-esteem, lack of trust and severe embarrassment.

“Patriarchy focuses on infidelity on the part of women who, unfortunately, have been designed by nature to carry the ultimate evidence of sexual intercourse—pregnancy. As one married man who does not want to be named, said, even if it is 50% of men that are suffering this fate, is it not men that are perpetrating the crime? Or do women impregnate themselves now?”

Paternity fraud, an age-old phenomenon

International human rights attorney, Kola Alapinni said while the 27% negativity rate is high, the reality is even higher because quoted figures only reflect those who approached facilities to be tested empirically. Citing the traditional Yoruba saying, “won gbe omo Oba fun Osun”( the child of Oba was switched and given to Osun), he said this is proof that paternity fraud must have existed even in the days of our forefathers.

Speaking to the rights of the child whose immigration plans are denied by virtue of negative DNA results, he said the child, unfortunately, does not have the same rights as that of a biological child.

“Once science has proved that the child you are planning to file for is not yours and you were not even aware of this crucial information in the first place, the visa would be denied. You may be able to remedy this situation at the embassy for travel purposes only by filing the necessary adoption papers. It is lengthy and costly. That is if the relationship even survives the scandal”.

A shift in culture

Alapinni cites the well-known and publicised case of the late billionaire businessman, president-elect elect and famous polygamist, MKO Abiola whose Will demanded that all but his first set of children take a DNA test to prove his paternity. He said it surprised many people that a man known for his generosity and magnanimity would demand such a demand, leading to many children crying foul.

Alapinni compared present realities with what was obtained in the past when wealthy men with access to many women were expected to be defrauded by women presenting babies to them who were not their biological children. “It was factored in”, he said, “and expected as the side effect of being a man everyone wanted to benefit from “.

He further told Vanguard, “The Constitution reflects our culture in this regard. Every child is equal and the concept of an illegitimate child does not exist as long as such a child was accepted by the father.

“There is a presumption of regularity under the Nigerian Law of Evidence. It is presumed that a woman in a subsisting marriage is pregnant for her husband. It is also presumed that even if the couple are separated, any pregnancy that she gives birth to nine months after she leaves the husband’s house belongs to the husband. But DNA results have debunked that presumption now with deadly accuracy”.

Awareness

Indeed, there has been a lot more awareness, with no fewer than fifty Nigerian laboratories now offering paternity DNA testing. Various television and social media programmes as well as skits also showcase paternity fraud and DNA testing, with many declaring results in the public space.

Funke, now middle-aged, believes it is a good thing, having been given at age five to be raised by the biological father of her half-sister, who had demanded his child. “ It was a deliberate act by my mother, who deceived all of us because my sister had an injury. The irony is that I was raised as a Yoruba girl only to discover at age 18 that my biological father was Igbo. If my (non-biological) father had known about DNA test, we could all have been saved a lot of trouble “, she laments.

Peace of mind, still top of mind

The Smart DNA 2024 report cites peace of mind as the primary reason for seeking DNA paternity testing by Nigerian men, 53% of whom are of Yoruba extraction while 31.3% are Igbo (Hausa men only account for 1.2%).

Interestingly, 85.9% of the tests conducted at the center between June 2023 to July 2024 were conducted for ‘Peace of Mind’, highlighting that Nigerians sought DNA testing to confirm biological relationships for personal reasons rather than legal cases. A close second was Immigration DNA test, accounting for 11.5% of the tests conducted at Smart DNA, from almost zero percent in earlier years.

DNA testing, a reliable tool?

So, what happens in the case of an error? What is the likelihood of one?

Dr Omotobora said the labs hardly fail having evolved over the years, and errors can only come in through the process of taking the samples.

“Also, the maintenance of the integrity of the samples. The chain of custody must be maintained and if disturbed can affect results. Another thing is picking someone for sampling who is not the right person to sample. In sampling it’s either they take blood or swipe the inner part of the mouth, the buccal mucosa. These two samples are very reliable but the process can be flawed.

“The best way now is to do DNA Analysis which never fails, where they check the sequence of the two parents and the child . Most of the ones I have seen are always in the extremes- either near zero or 90 something percent where you can now say that beyond reasonable doubt, this is the father. Then, they test for certain things that can only be transmitted from the man like the “Y” chromosome and from the woman, Mitochondrial DNA. I want to believe that if done in a lab that is reputable, problems cannot come from the process “, he said.