Nigerian journalist Luka Binniyat has been cleared of criminal defamation charges after a five-year legal battle.

Binniyat, a Kaduna-based reporter who covers the persecution of Christians, was arrested in 2021 after publishing an article quoting a Nigerian legislator who accused another lawmaker of “covering up” what he called a “genocide” against Christians in Kaduna.

The Federal High Court in Kaduna ruled in May that there was “no evidence to prove the essential elements of the alleged offence” and described the prosecution's evidence as “manifestly unreliable”.

Binniyat said: “It is troubling to me that I was arrested and prosecuted for fulfilling my duty as a journalist, which is to report the facts. It is essential that as Christians face widespread persecution throughout Nigeria, the press is free to quote what public figures are saying and doing about this crisis.

"I am grateful that I was released and the charges against me were dismissed. However, my experience shows that there is much work to be done in Nigeria regarding protecting free expression, especially when it comes to speaking out on religious freedom and reporting honestly about what is really happening to Christians in the country.”

Alliance Defending Freedom, which provided legal support to Binniyat, welcomed the ruling as a victory for freedom of expression.