IN DEFENCE OF LUKA BINNIYAT IN THE FACE OF EXISTENTIAL THREAT IN SOUTHERN KADUNA. By Edward John Auta
"It is my considered opinion that Mr. Binniyat should be heard in this court of public opinion before any verdict is passed on him. But since he is under lock and key, I will attempt to play the 'devil's advocate'.... Edward Auta.
"Luka Binniyat will surely regain his freedom one day, but Senator Danjuma La'ah will forever be remembered as one man who led Luka Binniyat to the slab of slaughter at a time his strong voice is needed to counter the narratives of the killings going on in Southern Kaduna".
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, since the beginning of this outgoing week there have been attacks across various villages and communities in Atyap land by fulani herdsmen that claimed several lives and left many others injured or displaced.
Yagbak, Abuyab, Asha Awuce, Atak Njei, Shiliam and Sako have come under attack without the world noticing.
We are gradually losing voices in the face of growing existential threat in our communities and region because we have fallen cheaply to a ploy to cause confusion in our ranks, distract us from the killings and ultimately derail us.
The arrest and arraignment of Luka Binniyat, and the subsequent press briefings by the Hon. Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs on the matter, have sharply divided and taken the better part of our voices as far as the massacre of our people is concerned.
This is the reason the above communities were attacked without our speaking against it, commiserating with the victims or at least exposing the acts as we usually do. Whatever spell might have been cast on us, it seems to have been a successful one.
We are now embroiled in a needless struggle to establish who is right and who is wrong between Luka Binniyat and Samaila Aruwan.
We have dissipated too much energy and time to analyse Mr. Binniyat's actions and even declare him guilty as charged, even though we have not heard from him.
It is my considered opinion that Mr. Binniyat should be heard in this court of public opinion before any verdict is passed on him. But since he is under lock and key, I will attempt to play the 'devil's advocate'.
I wish to begin by asking the very fundamental question: "should a reporter be liable for the malicious and or libellous publication of his employers?"
I ask this question because I believe Mr. Binniyat will be wondering why it is he and not The Epoch Times that is being dragged before the law given the popular notion that 'news reports, once published, become the intellectual property of the publisher' (and not the reporter), and therefore it is the publisher who will bear responsibility for all and every gain, loss, embarrassment and even litigation associated with its publications and not the individual contributors. The recent judgement by the courts in the case between The Union Publishers and the Kaduna State Governor, His Excellency Malam Nasir Ahmed El-rufa'i provides a very reasonable ground fitting for the debate by journalists and experts alike.
So, while Mr. Samuel Aruwan, like every other Nigerian, undoubtedly has every right to take action whenever he considers a publication to be injurious and or threatening to his person or family (as he alleged in this case), he must also be encouraged to take such action against the person(s) or entity legally liable for the said infraction.
Secondly, the veracity of Sen. Laah's claim in his reply to both Aruwan and the police in which he denied ever making the comments attributed to him by the Epoch Times or authorising same (which by the way provided the basis for Mr. Binniyat's arrest and detention) is in doubt. I wish to state that based on certain information at my disposal, the Senator's position on the matter may not be entirely true.
To start with, it is on record that Mr. Luka Binniyat is an employee of Senator Danjuma Laah with a contractual obligation to act as his spokesman and or media aide, and to the best of my knowledge this is not the first time Binniyat has released statements or quoted the Senator without first interviewing him, on account of the referenced contract between them.
For example, the celebrated press report some years ago, in which the Senator was quoted as saying the people of Southern Kaduna should defend themselves against Fulani herdsmen and from which he got plaudits was allegedly the product of Mr. Binniyat's ingenuity based on his observation of the Senator's disposition. He so acted in his capacity as the Senator's spokesman and media aide, and not an excerpt from any known interview the Senator had granted him.
The statement to the Epoch Times, therefore, may have been written in a similar vein merely to echo the views of the Senator that Binniyat (being his media aide) may be privy to which the public is not.
It is therefore inexplicable why Sen. La'ah would so easily submit to pressure from his coterie of political sycophants and associates - and now Mr. Binniyat's adversaries - to abandon his employee and celebrated soldier of the SK Struggle at a time he ought to demonstrate astute leadership and courage. Yes, a manager takes responsibilityfor the actions and inactions of his subordinates. Mr. Binniyat, I believe, will one day tell his own side of the story on this subject matter and it will surely be sweet to our ears.
Time ripens everything; and God willing, that day will come no matter how long it takes.
Coming to the substance of the statement in dispute, by his action, the Senator, having now distanced himself from the said publication, implicitly shows that he no longer believes that the massacres in Madamai, an Atyap Community, and a stone's throw from his own village of Tum, or indeed the other killings in SK are acts of attempted genocide, but a clash as some people would have us and the world to believe. This development, no doubt, unraveled the Senator's true self; a political opportunist-cum-coward and not the warrior of SK that Mr. Binniyat or others have successfully laboured to portray him, especially in the very recent past.
With Binniyat in prison and in the eye of the storm, the Senator has been exposed for the political opportunist that he is at a time when nothing short of courage is needed. By the way, many who attended the burial have said that in their opinion Senator made even worse comments at the burial of the Madamai 35.
Luka Binniyat will surely regain his freedom one day, but Senator Danjuma La'ah will forever be remembered as one man who led Luka Binniyat to the slab of slaughter at a time his strong voice is needed to counter the narratives of the killings going on in Southern Kaduna.
May we all rediscover ourselves; our voices, courage, and firce disposition to the killings in Southern Kaduna from the charm that seems to have hypnotised us. Amen.
May God also grant eternal rest to the souls of all those killed recently, heal the wounded and grant succour to the bereaved and displaced. Amen.
Indeed, Southern Kaduna shall know Peace Again!
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