Nearly one in four men who underwent paternity testing at Smart DNA Nigeria was excluded as the biological father during the laboratory’s 2025/2026 reporting period, even as the rate of negative results recorded a marginal decline.
According to the latest data from the laboratory, 23.6 per cent of recorded paternity test outcomes were negative, compared with 24 per cent in the preceding reporting period and 26.1 per cent in 2023.
The figures indicate a gradual decline in negative paternity results over the three reporting periods, although the latest rate remains significant.
Smart DNA’s Operations Manager, Elizabeth Digia, said the figures should be viewed within the context of individuals seeking answers to unresolved questions about biological parentage.
“Most of the men and women who come to us are not coming because anyone told them to. They are coming because they cannot live with the question,” Digia said.
She added that paternity testing involved sensitive family circumstances that should be handled with dignity rather than sensationalism.
The latest report also showed that men accounted for 78.6 per cent of first contacts for paternity testing, while women accounted for 15.2 per cent. Men aged 41 and above constituted the largest age group among classified male records, accounting for 48 per cent, while children aged five or younger represented 59.5 per cent of tested individuals.
The figures suggest that paternity questions are frequently being investigated when children are still very young, although the data do not establish when the suspicion first arose.
The findings also showed a notable pattern among firstborn children. Boys accounted for 56.1 per cent of negative firstborn outcomes in the latest reporting period, down from approximately 64.4 per cent in the previous period.
The result is particularly significant in a society where first sons often occupy an important position in family lineage, inheritance and succession. A negative paternity result involving a first son could therefore have implications beyond the relationship between a couple, potentially affecting family identity, inheritance claims and disputes over belonging.
The report further showed a shift in the reasons Nigerians sought DNA testing. Immigration-related DNA testing fell from 13.1 per cent to 9.7 per cent, while Peace of Mind tests increased from 83.7 per cent to 87 per cent.
The development indicates that private paternity verification now accounts for the overwhelming majority of the laboratory’s recorded cases. Rather than being driven mainly by immigration requirements or court-related matters, the data suggest that many clients are seeking DNA testing to resolve personal doubts about biological parentage.
The growing use of testing has also raised concerns about the consequences of negative results for families, particularly children.
A paternity test may settle a biological question, but the result can trigger emotional and social consequences for couples and children who have lived together as a family for years.
Experts have consequently urged men who receive negative results to avoid directing anger or blame at children, who have no control over the circumstances surrounding their birth or the decision to conduct a test.
A child who suddenly becomes the focus of a dispute over biological parentage may experience rejection, confusion and emotional distress, particularly where the result leads to the breakdown of the parents’ relationship.
The latest Smart DNA figures, however, should not be interpreted as evidence that nearly one in four Nigerian fathers is unknowingly raising another man’s child.
The 23.6 per cent figure represents the proportion of negative results among people who sought testing at the laboratory. It is not a national prevalence rate.
People with no reason to question paternity are less likely to seek DNA testing, meaning the laboratory’s client population cannot be assumed to represent Nigerian families generally. Smart DNA has therefore cautioned against extrapolating its testing-centre figures to the wider Nigerian population.
The distinction is particularly important given the emotional and social sensitivity surrounding paternity.
Despite the decline from 26.1 per cent in 2023 to 24 per cent in 2024/2025 and 23.6 per cent in 2025/2026, the figures show that paternity disputes remain a significant reason Nigerians turn to DNA technology.
The data also point to a broader change in how Nigerians resolve questions of biological identity.
For generations, issues of paternity were largely addressed through trust, family resemblance, personal assurances and social expectations. Increasing access to DNA testing is changing that equation by providing a scientific method for establishing biological relationships.
The trend could become more pronounced as testing becomes more accessible and awareness grows. But while DNA can provide a definitive biological answer, the implications of that answer may extend into marriage, inheritance, family relationships and the psychological wellbeing of children. For Smart DNA, the latest figures therefore represent more than laboratory statistics.
They show an increasing number of Nigerians turning to scientific evidence when uncertainty about biological fatherhood becomes difficult to live with. And while the negative-result rate has declined for three consecutive reporting periods, the persistence of a rate above 20 per cent ensures that paternity testing will remain an emotionally charged issue in Nigerian families.
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