Persecuted Human Rights Activist Luka Binniyat To Appear In Court

By CSI/Nigeria Report
Luka Binniyat has been jailed three times. Photo: Luka Binniyat
Luka Binniyat has been jailed three times. Photo: Luka Binniyat

Seven months after his release from jail, Nigerian journalist and human rights activist Luka Binniyat will appear in court in Kaduna on 6 September to answer charges of cyberstalking. Ahead of the hearing he said he was feeling “hopeful and optimistic” about the outcome.

The 57-year-old spent three months in pre-trial detention following his arrest on 4 November 2021 in connection with an article he had written for a U.S.-based newspaper, the Epoch Times, about Fulani militia attacks against Christians in his native southern Kaduna State. He was charged under Nigeria’s 2015 Cybercrime Prevention and Prohibition Act, which criminalizes ‘cyberstalking’ – including online speech that is ‘grossly offensive’ or ‘causes annoyance’.

Binniyat was finally released on 3 February, but the charges were not dropped.

He is due to appear before Justice Garba Mohammed at the Federal High Court 1 in Kaduna.

“I expect Luka´s defence team to make a case for dismissal of the case. I expect the government´s side to double down on its position seeking a conviction,” commented Christian Solidarity International (CSI) Senior Research Fellow Franklyne Ogbunwezeh.

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