The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, sitting in Kubwa, Abuja presided over by Hon. Justice Asmau Akanbi-Yusuf on Monday convicted and sentenced Dr. Abubakar Mustapha Danraka, Ph.D. to life imprisonment for Sodomy under Section 1 of the VAPP Act of 2015.
A statement on Tuesday by the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) spokesman, Vincent Adekoye and made available to newsmen.
The statement described the conviction as a historic and landmark ruling in the implementation of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015.
Adekoye revealed that the convict, Abubakar Mustapha 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.
“The ruling ends the three-year-old controversies surrounding this celebrated case which had attracted much attention from stakeholders across the country.”
“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,” the statement said.
In her reaction to the judgment, the Director General of NAPTIP, Prof. Fatima Waziri-Azi, commended judiciary for its doggedness in ensuring that justice is served under the VAPP Act.
“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,” she said.
Veteran journalist and recipient of A.B.C Yola, Reporter of the Year Award (1997), Hassan Umar Shallpella, works with WAP as a Regional Correspondence. He was trained at Institute of Mass Communication and Technology Jos and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Training School Lagos.He was a News desk Editor and a Correspondent at the Punch newspaper and till 2019, was the Deputy Editor ofThe Scope newspaper.
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