{"id":28836,"date":"2017-09-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-09-05T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/csw-yeo.1wp.site\/press\/nigerian-journalist-denied-bail-review-3689\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T18:44:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T17:44:49","slug":"nigerian-journalist-denied-bail-review-3689","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/press\/nigerian-journalist-denied-bail-review-3689\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigerian journalist denied bail review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Nigeria\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Journalist<\/span><\/span>Luka Binni<\/span><\/span>yat<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span> was remanded in custody for forty additional days on 31 August, after the judge presiding over his trial refused to review his<\/span><\/span> \u201cexcessive\u201d bail terms<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>because a new lawyer would be taking over the case for the prosecution.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Binniyat, who has been detained<\/span><\/span>since 12 July, is charged with \u2018breach of the peace\u2019 and \u2018injurious falsehood,\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> in connection with a story<\/span><\/span> he wrote<\/span><\/span> about an attack by armed Ful<\/span><\/span>ani herdsmen in southern Kaduna,<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span> that later proved incorrect<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> and<\/span><\/span>for which he apologised publicly. His<\/span><\/span><\/span>case<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span>hi<\/span><\/span>ghlights eroding press freedom and<\/span><\/span>the seeming inequality before the law of different religious communities in Kaduna State.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 20 July, Mr Binniyat was remanded in custody again when Justice Bashir Sukola, sitting in High Court 10 in Kaduna, set what observers described as \u201cnearly impossible\u201d bail conditions and adjourned the case until 31 August.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Binniyat\u2019s lawyers reportedly filed a motion for a review of the bail terms on 7 August<\/span><\/span>. H<\/span><\/span>owever, during the hearing on 31 August, Judge Sukola adjourned the case until 9 October<\/span><\/span><\/span>, granting an application<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>made<\/span><\/span>by the prosecution<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>for<\/span><\/span> a delay in the bail review, in order to allow their<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>new<\/span><\/span>lawyer time to prepare.<\/span><\/span><\/span>As Mr Binniyat was rema<\/span><\/span>nded in custody yet again, his lead lawyer,<\/span><\/span>Barrister Kanyip, informed the Nigerian media that he would seek redress at the Cour<\/span><\/span>t of Appeal if the bail motion<\/span><\/span>is not handled in a satisfactory manner.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Binniyat\u2019s continued detention has been widely criticised<\/span><\/span><\/span>. It<\/span><\/span>is generally viewed as the latest in a series of actions b<\/span><\/span>y the Kaduna State governor to<\/span><\/span>silence voices that draw attention to violence underway in southern Kaduna, where for over a year armed Fulani herders have been attacking communities, killing over 800 people and seizing land and property with relative impunity.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a message addressed to the Governor of Kaduna State<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> Nasir el Rufai, Bishop Joseph Bagobiri of the Catholic Diocese of Kafanchan described Mr Binniyat as a political prisoner, and said i<\/span><\/span><\/span>t was \u201ca pity that the<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/span>[…] cas<\/span><\/span>e was stalled using casuistries<\/span><\/span> [sic]<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/b>\u201d<\/i><\/b> He called for Mr Binniyat to be set free, adding that \u201conly a sadist would be complacent with such injustice.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast to Mr Binniyat’s case, the individuals behind the 6 June<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u2018<\/span><\/span>Kaduna Declaration<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/span>remain at large, despite a longstanding arrest order issued by the governor following a press conference<\/span><\/span>in<\/span><\/span> which they vilified the Igbo tribe, called for coordinated action against its members and warned them to leave northern Nigeria before 1 October or face unspecified consequences.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 25 August, three United Nations human rights experts issued a statement describing the Declaration as hate speech, expressing grave concern at the \u201cproliferation of hate message<\/i><\/b>s and incitement to violence against the Igbo and their property, especially considering the previous history of such violence\u201d<\/i><\/b>, and called for the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of Christian Solidarity Worldwide (<\/span><\/span>CSW<\/span><\/span>)<\/span><\/span> said: \u201cIt is manifestly unjust that Mr Binniyat, who is yet to be found guilty, is obliged to remain in prison due to bail terms that far exceed the nature of the crime he is alleged to have committed. Moreover, the judge\u2019s actions, and particularly his refusal to review the bail terms while granting a lengthy deferral, have the unfortunate appearance of being punitive measures designed to deprive Mr Binniyat of his liberty for as long as possible<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> and in a manner incompatible with judicial impartiality and due process. Meanwhile, individuals who have incited violence against a people group were able to reiterate these threats publicly on several occasions and are yet to be arrested.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/span><\/span>Selective arrests and prosecutions are divisive and self defeating, undermining the rule of law and eroding any residual confidence in the state government at a time of increasing security challenges.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>We echo the call for Mr Binniyat to be set free, and for an end to political<\/span><\/span>prosecutions that are aimed at<\/span><\/span><\/span>suppressing press freedom and freedom of expression. We also urge the state government to focus its efforts on arresting genuine instigators and<\/span><\/span><\/span>perpetrators of violence, and on<\/span><\/span>protecting the li<\/span><\/span>ves of citizens, regardless of<\/span><\/span>their creed or ethnicity.”<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Journalist Luka Binniyat was remanded in custody for forty additional days on 31 August, after the judge refused to review his bail.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":42975,"template":"","categories":[],"regions":[156,152],"class_list":["post-28836","press","type-press","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","regions-nigeria","regions-sub-saharan-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/28836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/28836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39422,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press\/28836\/revisions\/39422"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28836"},{"taxonomy":"regions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.csw.org.uk\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/regions?post=28836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}