Nigerian DNA Firm Reports That 1 In 4 Men Not Biological Fathers Of Their Children
An average of one in every four paternity tests conducted by Smart DNA, Lagos, Nigeria ended up with negative results in its 2025/2026 reporting period, with the man presented as the child’s father not being a blood-biological match.
Posting a statement on Sunday, August 24, 2026, Smart DNA said its report confirmed that 23.6 percent of recorded paternity test outcomes were negative, meaning the tested man was not the biological father.
Leading its website with the warning, “Paternity Fraud is real,” and boasting itself as “Nigeria’s Most Reliable and Private DNA Testing,” the company is located at Gbagada and has a branch in Lekki.
According to the report, the negative paternity outcome declined marginally from 24.0 percent in the preceding year and 26.1 percent in 2023.
The report, however, cautioned against interpreting the figure as evidence that one in four Nigerian children is not biologically related to the man regarded as the father.
It stressed that its clients were people who had already developed sufficient doubts or reasons to seek DNA testing.
The report also revealed that 87 percent of DNA tests conducted were ‘Peace of Mind tests,’ representing private, self-initiated tests undertaken outside legal, immigration or court proceedings.
It said the proportion increased from 83.7 percent in the preceding reporting period, indicating that personal concerns and the desire for certainty largely drove DNA testing in Nigeria.
Immigration-related tests accounted for 9.7 percent, legal tests 1.9 percent, avuncular tests one percent, while prenatal testing represented 0.4 percent of recorded cases.
The report further showed that older men accounted for the majority of male clients seeking DNA tests, with men aged 41 years and above representing 48 percent of age-classified male records.
Men aged between 31 and 40 accounted for another 35.8 percent, meaning that men above 30 constituted 83.8 percent of the male testing population.
On the other hand, 59.5 percent of tested individuals were children aged five years and below, a figure that remained virtually unchanged from the previous reporting period.
The company said the concentration of testing among younger children suggested that many families preferred to resolve questions surrounding biological relationships early, although the data could not establish the reasons behind the trend.
Geographically, Lagos accounted for 75.1 percent of all classified cases, rising from 69 percent in the preceding period.
Lekki recorded the highest number of named locations in Lagos, followed by Ajah, Ikorodu, Yaba and Ikeja, while Lagos Mainland accounted for 61.6 percent of Lagos cases with specific location classifications.
Outside Lagos, Ogun recorded the highest testing activity, followed by Delta, Oyo, Rivers, Enugu, Edo, Abuja, Imo and Kwara.
The report said testing activity outside Lagos increased during the period, suggesting that awareness and demand for DNA testing were gradually spreading across other parts of the country.
It further revealed that men initiated 78.6 percent of recorded first contacts with the company, compared with 15.2 percent by women.
The ethnic distribution of clients was led by Yoruba at 52.6 percent, followed by Igbo at 29.1 percent, Edo at 5.8 percent and a combined 5.4 percent for Delta, Ijaw, Isoko, Urhobo and Itsekiri groups.
The Hausa accounted for 1 percent.
Smart DNA said the figures reflected its geographical and client base rather than differences in paternity behaviour among ethnic groups.
The company also warned that its findings should not be generalised to the entire Nigerian population, stressing that its clients were not a random sample of Nigerian families.
It said the 23.6 percent negative result represented its testing population, a group in which doubts about biological relationships already existed and therefore could not be used to estimate the prevalence of non-paternity across Nigeria.
The report maintained that while DNA testing could provide highly accurate answers to biological questions, it could not independently explain the social, cultural, economic or relationship circumstances that led families to seek such tests.
It urged the public to rely on evidence rather than rumours or sensational claims when discussing paternity testing and family relationships in Nigeria.
