The National Agency for The Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) on Wednesday, said its operatives have arrested a 42 years oldp harmacist, Abubarkar Danraka, for alleged sodomy.
A statement by an official of the Press Unit of NAPTIP, Osamuyi Oyegun, said Danraka who has a PhD, was arrested after he allegedly
had an anal sexual intercourse with a 12 year old boy (name withheld).
Oyegun said the offence is contrary to the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015.
According to him, the suspect, who is a resident of Spring Valley Estate of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja works at the National Hospital, Abuja as Chief Pharmacist is currently the Special Assistant (Technical) to the Director General of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development, Abuja.
He added that Danraka who hails from Zaria, Kaduna State is also an Imam in the Mosque within his estate.
Oyegun said the 12 year old victim, while narrating his ordeal to the NAPTIP operatives said the crime took place on Saturday March 21,
2020 at the residence of the suspect.
According to him, after their religious educational programme (Islamiyya) that afternoon, he decided to check on his friend who happens to be a neighbour to the suspect.
He explained that when he got to his friend’s residence, he knocked at the door severally, but there was no response, so he made to leave, but the suspect opened his door and beckoned on him to come.
According to the statement, the suspect quickly grabbed the victim’s hands and pushed him into his sitting room.
The suspect was said to later appear friendly and offered the victim a glass of water to
drink.
The boy was said to have drunk the water and later began to feel weak.
Oyegun said that in that state of weakness, Danraka allegedly overpowered the suspect laid him on a red settee in his sitting room and forced his penis into the victim’s anus.
He added that after the encounter, the suspect allegedly asked the boy to go home after issuing a stern warning to him that he must not mention what had happened to him to anyone.
The statement said the mother of the victim scolded him when he reached home but later observed that her son was behaving strange and feeling unease.
She was said to have taken him into the room and questioned him what happened to him, which made the victim to open up on his ordeal.
According to the statement, the victim’s mother checked his body and saw sperm content and bruises around his anus region. The woman and the victim’s father were said to have rushed the boy to the National hospital, Abuja where he was admitted.
Oyegun said the victim was discharged on Thursday March, 26 after spending five days in the hospital.
He said the suspect who is currently in NAPTIP’s custody denied involvement in such crime.
Oyegun said, an identification parade was, however, done where a number of men with the height and stature of the suspect were put
together, and the victim pointed out the suspect.
He said.
“Subsequent investigation at the home of the suspect also corroborated the narration of the victim especially with the colours of the furniture in the suspect’s sitting room as well as the setting of the place. Further investigations are ongoing.”
According to the statement, the Director-General of NAPTIP, Julie Okah-Donli expressed sadness over the incident and wondered why such a person should allegedly get involved in such a crime.
She however, appealed to parents to always be vigilant with their children.
