Families of homicide victims shouldn’t pay for autopsies, Ajulo warns

By Boye Oyeyemi

The Ondo State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr. Olukayode Ajulo, SAN, OON, has called for an end to the practice of making families of suspected homicide victims pay for autopsies.

Ajulo said the financial burden of establishing the cause of a suspicious or unnatural death should not be transferred to grieving relatives, stressing that the state has a responsibility to obtain evidence needed to investigate suspected crimes.

According to him, where a death is being investigated as homicide, an autopsy should be treated as an essential part of the criminal investigation rather than a private medical service for the deceased’s family.

He said the position was consistent with the objectives of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and applicable state law, which seek to promote an efficient and humane justice system while protecting the rights of accused persons.

Ajulo noted that failure to conduct autopsies or provide medical reports had, in some cases, created evidentiary gaps that made it difficult for prosecutors to establish the cause and circumstances of death in court.

He said, “In some instances, relatives of deceased persons would tell the court that no autopsy was conducted because the family could not afford the fees demanded for the examination.”

The commissioner maintained that families should not be responsible for investigating crimes committed against their relatives, adding that financial status should not determine whether crucial forensic evidence is obtained.

Ajulo therefore called for stronger coordination among the police, medical practitioners, prosecutors and the judiciary, as well as appropriate funding arrangements to ensure that post-mortem examinations in suspected homicide cases are conducted promptly and the resulting reports made available to investigators and prosecutors.