A journalist who reported on the persecution of Christians in Nigeria was arrested for criminal defamation, but now has been cleared after a five-year fight in the courts.
A report from ADF International confirms that Luka Binniyat, based in Kaduna and recognized as one of the nation’s pre-eminent voices on the persecution of Christians there, has been cleared formally.
“In November 2021, Binniyat wrote an article for the U.S.-based Epoch Times in which he quoted a Nigerian legislator who accused another lawmaker of ‘covering up’ what he described as a ‘genocide’ against Christians in Kaduna. After the article was published, Binniyat was arrested and detained on charges of criminal defamation,” the report said.
He wasn’t released until February 2022, and then spent years fighting for himself.
“It is troubling to me that I was arrested and prosecuted for fulfilling my duty as a journalist, which is to report the facts. It is essential that as Christians face widespread persecution throughout Nigeria, the press is free to quote what public figures are saying and doing about this crisis,” he said.
“I am grateful that I was released and the charges against me were dismissed. However, my experience shows that there is much work to be done in Nigeria regarding protecting free expression, especially when it comes to speaking out on religious freedom and reporting honestly about what is really happening to Christians in the country.”
It was the Kaduna Federal High Court that just weeks ago published a ruling that there was “no substantial evidence to support the charge of defamation,” the report said.
The court found “no evidence to prove the essential elements of the alleged offense.”
Further, the court said evidence presented against Binniyat was “manifestly unreliable.”
The court’s ruling came after the prosecution’s presentation, before the defense even called witnesses, giving evidence there was “no case” at all.
“Luka Binniyat did nothing more than accurately quote a Nigerian legislator’s own words. This ruling is a vindication for Luka, but it should also be a wake-up call: accurate reporting on atrocities is not a crime, and journalists covering religious persecution deserve protection, not prosecution,” said Sean Nelson, of the ADF organization.
“Across Nigeria, Christians are being slaughtered for their faith. Journalists have both a duty and a right to report on these violent, religiously-motivated attacks — without their reporting, the suffering they face would go largely unnoticed.”
The legal team noted that Christians there face “blasphemy laws, threats of death, violations of due process, and the destruction of property through mob violence.”
