LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – A high court sitting in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, has sentenced a public officer, Dr. Abubakar Mustapha Danraka, to life imprisonment for raping a 12-year-old boy.
The National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) made the disclosure in a statement released by its spokesman, Vincent Adekoye, stating that it secured the conviction on 18 September, under Section 1 of the VAPP Act of 2015.
According to Adekoye, Danraka was a former Chief Pharmacist of the National Hospital, Abuja, and Senior Special Adviser to the Director of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development.
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Adekoya added that the convict was arrested on 27 March, 2020, for defiling a minor (name withheld), who happened to be his neighbour, living in the same estate with him in Abuja.
The statement disclosed that the convict lured the victim to his apartment and had anal intercourse with him after stupefying him with a drink.
The prosecution team from NAPTIP sufficiently proved the charge beyond a reasonable doubt which led to the 18 September judgment presided over by Hon. Justice Asmau Akanbi-Yusuf.
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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.
“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,” Waziri-Azi stated.
This is the third rape conviction secured by NAPTIP in the FCT for the year 2023.