On 4 November 2021, the Christian journalist and human rights activist Luka Binniyat was arrested for a report he had written about a massacre of Christians in his home state of Kaduna. He was
charged with “cyberstalking” and held in prison for three months, before he was finally released on bail.
The charges against him have still not been dropped - he is due to appear in court again on 16 March.
On 2 March, Christian Solidarity International’s Joel Veldkamp sat down with Luka at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in Zonkwa Diocese, near his hometown. Luka told us about the government’s campaign
against him, and the continuing massacre and displacement of native Christians in southern Kaduna:
- While Luka was in prison, his home village of Daman Zabo was attacked twice, and his cousin killed. His 100-year-old father is now
an IDP.
- “The genocide against Christians in southern Kaduna has taken a turn for the worse under the government of Governor Nasir Ahmad
Elrufai.”
- 145 Christian communities in southern Kaduna have now been occupied by Fulani militias – accounting for about 10% of the land in
the region.
- Two days before our interview, Fulani militias attacked villages in the area of Chikun, killing four people and chasing many more
out of their homes.
- In the past year, Christians in southern Kaduna have been forced to pay more than 3 billion Naira (about $7,200,000) in ransom
money to Fulani kidnapping gangs.
- Even as the government persecutes Christian journalists like Luka and arrests Christian leaders who speak out, it provides almost
no protection to Christians against Fulani militia attacks.
- So many Christians have been displaced from their homes in Kaduna that it may affect the election results in 2023 – displaced
people find it much harder to vote.
- “This is an expansion of Islam by force. They are changing the demography of the region.”
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