Michael Olugbode in Abuja
The National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has secured a life imprisonment sentence at the High Court in Abuja against a public officer, Dr. Abubakar Mustapha Danraka, for sodomy.
This was a historic and landmark ruling in the implementation of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015.
A statement yesterday, by the agency’s spokesman, Vincent Adekoye, noted that the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, sitting in Kubwa, Abuja and presided over by Hon. Justice Asmau Akanbi-Yusuf, on Monday convicted and sentenced Danraka, Ph.D holder to life imprisonment for rape (Sodomy)under Section 1 of the VAPP Act of 2015.
Adekoye revealed that Danraka was a former Chief Pharmacist of National Hospital, Abuja, and Senior Special Adviser (Technical) to the Director of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development.
He noted that the ruling ended the three-year-old controversies surrounding this celebrated case which had attracted much attention from stakeholders across the country.
Adekoye, said the convict was arrested on March 27th, 2020, for defiling a minor (name withheld), who happened to be his neighbour, living in the same estate with him in Abuja.
He lured the victim to his apartment and had anal intercourse with him after stupefying him with a drink.
He was charged to court vide a charge dated 9th August 2021, and was arraigned on 5th April. 2022 where he pleaded “not guilty.”
The prosecution team from NAPTIP sufficiently proved the charge beyond a reasonable doubt which led to the September 18, 2023 judgment.
Reacting to the judgment, the Director General of NAPTIP, Prof. Fatima Waziri – Azi, hailed the judiciary for its doggedness in ensuring that justice is served under the VAPP Act.
She said, “I want to specially commend the Judiciary for its sustained collaboration, and support in the implementation of the VAPP/Law in the Country which has culminated in this landmark judgment. This is a victory for us as a country.
“In our bid to make Nigeria a violence–free nation, in collaboration with all our esteemed partners and stakeholders, we will continue to scale our efforts in ensuring more convictions and less impunity,” the NAPTIP Director General stated.
This was the third rape conviction secured by NAPTIP in the FCT for the year 2023.
