A Kaduna base journalist Luka Biniyat has been detained for 64 days at the Kaduna correctional facility without trial.
Biniyat was arrested by the police and later sent to the correctional center by a Kaduna Magistrate Court Barnawa over an alleged injurious statement of defamation against the Kaduna state commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs Samuel Aruwan.
The commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan has accused an online publication of fabricating a false and inciting the public against him.
Luka Biniyat is a freelance with an American based Newspaper “Epoch Time” has 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 senator representing Kaduna South Danjuma la’ah as his source.
Counsel to Samuel Aruwan wrote the senator through his lawyer whether the senator is the source of the alleged statement but the senator through his lawyer reply to the counsel to Aruwan denied granting Biniyat audience and the defendant is yet to provide proof to his claim.
Luka Biniyat has been in detention since 4th November 2021 after he was arrested, and taken to police custody before finally being taken to a Kaduna Magistrate Court 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 awaiting the court to fix the date for seating and to decide whether to grant him bail or not.
Luka Biniyat has been standing trial since 2017 for alleged injurious falsehood and other charges following a story he wrote that five students of College of Education Gidan Waya were killed on transit while he was reporting for the Vanguard Newspaper.
Following the publication he sacked by vanguard newspaper. Biniyat was later appointed as the spokesperson for the Southern Kaduna People’s Union SOKAPU.
