The FCT chapter of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has vowed to appeal the life imprisonment handed down to Abubakar Danraka, a pharmacist with the National Hospital, Abuja, for committing sodomy.
The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting in Kubwa, Abuja, and presided over by Hon. Justice Asmau Akanbi-Yusuf on Monday, September 18, 2023, convicted and sentenced Danraka to life imprisonment for rape (Sodomy) under Section 1 of the VAPP Act of 2015.
The chairman of the chapter, Mr Ifeanyi Ikebudu, in a statement on Tuesday, October 24, 2023, claimed that Danraka did not commit the crime and that it was just a case of a threat on him by the father of the victim who happened to be a pharmacy technician with the National Hospital.
“We are aware of the rancour between him and the father of the purported victim, a pharmacy technician at the National Hospital, Abuja, where Danraka is still on the nominal roll as an assistant director,” the statement reads in part.
“He is currently on secondment with the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), Idu, Abuja
“The pharmacy technician had threatened to destroy Danraka, and this conviction could have been the outcome of the well-executed threat
“It has become very important for us to state our position with respect to the life imprisonment handed over to our colleague, friend and brother, Dr Abubakar Danraka, recently by the FCT court in Abuja.
“Danraka is one of our finest, a pharmacist of no mean repute, an astute professional who has carved a niche for himself and the pharmacy profession everywhere he worked as testified by his subordinates, peers and superiors.
“He was undeservedly jailed for an alleged act of sodomy which every one of us doubted that he could be involved in an abominable act of that nature
“We had no doubt in our mind as evidenced by our interaction with Dr Abubakar Danraka that this was a case of a threat carried too far and that he will prove his innocence and be vindicated
“It is unbelievable and untenable that he could be convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment as pronounced by the FCT High Court for a crime he has consistently and vehemently denied committing.”
