The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons says it has secured the sentencing of a pharmacist, Abubakar Danraka, to life imprisonment for rape.
The Press Officer of NAPTIP, Vincent Adekoye, made the disclosure in a statement he issued on Tuesday in Abuja.
Adekoye said an FCT High Court sitting in Kubwa convicted and sentenced Danraka to life imprisonment on Monday.
According to him, the court, presided over by Justice A. Akanbi-Yusuf, sentenced him after NAPTIP’s prosecution team had successfully proved the charge beyond reasonable doubt.
He said that the suspect was charged to court vide a charge dated August 9, 2021 and was later arraigned on April 5, 2022.
The convict, according to Adekoye, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
He said the convict is a former Chief Pharmacist of National Hospital, Abuja and a Senior Special Adviser on Technical to the Director of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development.
He said that the public servant was charged with rape (Sodomy) under Section 1 of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act of 2015.
Adekoye said the convict was arrested on March 27, 2020 for defiling a minor, whose parents reside within the same neighbourhood in Abuja.
He said the convict lured the victim to his apartment, had anal intercourse with her after spiking her drink.
He said the judgment brought to a definitive conclusion of a three-year-old controversial rape trial.
The statement also quoted the NAPTIP Director-General, Prof. Fatma Waziri-Azi, as commending the judgment, saying it would serve as deterrent to other would-be offenders under the VAPP Act.
Waziri-Azi 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.”
The NAPTIP boss said that the judgment is a victory for the country at large.
She added: “In a bid to make Nigeria a violence-free nation, with the collaboration of all our esteemed partners and stakeholders, NAPTIP will continue to scale efforts to ensure more convictions and less impunity.
“This is the third rape conviction and counting secured by NAPTIP in the FCT for the year 2023.”
