Dr Abubakar Danraka
In what many have hailed as a landmark judgement, a Federal High Court in Kubwa, Abuja, on Monday sentenced Dr Abubakar Danraka, special adviser to the Director General, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) to life imprisonment under Section 1 of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act of 2015, for raping a minor.
The ruling which was delivered by Hon. Justice A. Akanbi-Yusuf in Abuja on Monday, has been commended by Director General, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) Dr Fatima Waziri-Azi, as she applauded the judiciary for its perseverance in ensuring justice was served under the VAPP Act.
Meanwhile, the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) the regulatory body in charge of pharmacists’ professional conduct has claimed it is not aware of the development. When contacted by our correspondent, the Chairman, PCN, Prof. Ahmed Tijani Mora, said he knows nothing about the case, as he was just arriving the United States.
“Please I am just landing in the US. I don’t know anything about it yet?”, he stated.
Also speaking with a former President, Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Pharm. Ahmed Yakasai, he also disclosed he has no information on the ruling, though he advised the family of Danraka to appeal the case.
According to him “Actually, I don’t know much about the case. Meanwhile, the family of Danraka should quickly appeal the case”.
In a press statement signed by NAPTIP Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye, on Tuesday, it was stated that the convict committed the crime on 27 March, 2020, when he lured the survivor to his apartment and administered a stupefying drink on him before violating him with anal intercourse.
The NAPTIP DG lauded the judiciary for its collaboration with her agency in bringing the culprit to book, after several trails in the past two years. She also revealed that this is the third rape conviction and counting, secured by NAPTIP in the FCT for the year 2023.
She said “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”.
When contacted via WhatsApp for his account of the judgement, the accused did not respond to questions from Topsyoba as at press time.
