A journalist based in Kaduna State, North-West Nigeria, Luka Biniyat has been detained for 65 days at the Kaduna Custodial Centre without trial.
Biniyat was arrested by the police and later sent to the facility by the Kaduna Magistrate Court sitting in Barnawa over an alleged injurious statement of defamation against the State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan.
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The Commissioner has accused an online publication of fabricating a false and inciting story against him.
Luka Biniyat is a freelance journalist with an American-based newspaper, “Epoch Time” who had written in one of his reports that “the Kaduna State Government is using Samuel Aruwan, a Christian to cover up genocide in Christian Southern Kaduna, quoting the senator representing Kaduna South, Danjuma la’ah as his source.
Aruwan reportedly wrote the Senator through his lawyer on whether he was the source of the alleged statement but the Senator through his lawyer replied denying granting Biniyat audience and the defendant is yet to provide proof of his claim.
Luka Biniyat has been in detention since November 4, 2021 after he was arrested, and taken into police custody before finally being taken to a Kaduna Magistrate Court in Barnawa.
The Court was unable to grant him bail as its lack jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
The legal team of Luka Biniyat has applied for bail at the Federal High Court Kaduna and waiting for a date to be fixed for hearing of the motion.
Luka Biniyat has been standing trial since 2017 for alleged injurious falsehood and other charges following a story he wrote that five students of the College of Education Gidan Waya were killed on transit while he was reporting for the Vanguard newspaper at that time.
Following the publication he was sacked by Vanguard newspaper and was later appointed as the spokesperson for Southern Kaduna People’s Union SOKAPU.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
