Sodomy: Abubakar Danraka ex chief Pharmacist at National Hospital Abuja, sentenced to life in jail

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has secured a life sentence for sodomy against a public officer, Dr. Abubakar Mustapha Danraka, before the High Court in Abuja.

This is a milestone decision in the execution of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act of 2015.

According to a statement issued by the agency’s spokesman, Vincent Adekoye, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, sitting in Kubwa, Abuja and presided over by Hon. Justice Asmau Akanbi-Yusuf on Monday, a Public Officer in Nigeria, Abubakar Mustapha Danraka, Ph.D., was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for rape (Sodomy) under Section 1 of the VAPP Act of 2015.

Adekoye stated that the convict, Abubakar Mustapha Danraka, was a former Chief Pharmacist at the National Hospital in Abuja as well as a Senior Special Adviser (Technical) to the Director of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development.

He stated that the verdict puts an end to the three-year-old debates surrounding the famed case, which had piqued the interest of stakeholders across the country.

Adekoye stated that the convict was apprehended on March 27, 2020, for defiling a juvenile (name withheld), who happened to be his neighbor and lived in the same estate in Abuja as him.

After stupefying the victim with a drink, he lured him to his apartment and had anal intercourse with him.

He was charged in Court on August 9, 2021, and was arraigned on April 5, 2022, when he pled “not guilty.”

The NAPTIP Prosecution team proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt, resulting in the September 18, 2023 decision.

In response to the decision, NAPTIP Director General Professor Fatima Waziri – Azi praised the judiciary for its tenacity in ensuring that justice is done 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 is the third rape conviction secured by NAPTIP in the FCT for the year 2023.