DemyHealth Launches Advanced DNA Testing for Justice and Public Health

A leading healthcare technology company, DemyHealth, has broadened its DNA testing services beyond paternity cases, positioning itself as one of the most advanced molecular diagnostics centres in West Africa.

This development follows the installation of two world-class sequencing technologies — the ABI 3500Dx Genetic Analyser and the Illumina Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) platform — at its newly unveiled DNA facility in Abuja.

Traditionally associated with paternity disputes and family legal matters in Nigeria, DNA testing is now playing an increasingly vital role in forensics, disaster victim identification, immigration, and personalised healthcare.

DemyHealth’s expanded capacity allows law enforcement, clinicians, and researchers to carry out DNA analysis with unmatched speed and accuracy.

Head of Molecular Diagnostics, Casmir Ali, explained that the lab now supports forensic investigations, particularly in suspected child trafficking cases. “DNA testing is saving lives. We help law enforcement confirm or disprove parental claims, ensuring vulnerable children are not returned to traffickers or abusers,” he said.

Ali added that demand for sibling, grandparent, and avuncular testing is rising, supporting medical diagnoses, immigration applications, and criminal cases. In disaster scenarios such as air crashes and building collapses, DNA has enabled the identification of unrecognisable victims, offering closure to grieving families.

DemyHealth’s Chairman and CEO, Dr. Emeka Obiodunukwe, noted that DNA is now critical in resolving cases of misidentified bodies in mortuaries and in tracing long-missing persons. “The emotional relief families feel when a body is correctly identified is hard to overstate. DNA delivers both legal certainty and cultural closure,” he said.

Driven by Nigeria’s rising “japa” migration wave, the lab has also seen a surge in family-based DNA testing for visa, citizenship, and reunification cases. Dr. Sharon Akinpelu, Senior Molecular Scientist at DemyHealth, explained that embassies increasingly require legally admissible DNA proof of biological ties.

Beyond legal and forensic applications, DemyHealth now deploys Illumina’s NGS platform for cancer diagnostics, rare disease detection, infectious disease surveillance, pharmacogenomics, newborn screening, and organ donor matching. Ancestry testing and livestock DNA analysis are also being explored.

The new 16-channel sequencing facility, paired with the FDA-cleared ABI 3500Dx Sanger sequencing platform, gives DemyHealth a strong technical edge in Nigeria’s molecular diagnostics sector.

Obiodunukwe stressed that the company’s goal is to close the molecular testing gap across Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa. “This positions us to deliver world-class diagnostics and raise the standard of care in the region,” he said.