Nigerian court orders UK to pay $27 million each to slain miners’ families

Summary

A Nigerian court on Thursday ordered the British government to compensate families of coal miners killed in 1949 during British colonial rule, a decision that follows decades of campaigning for redress over the deaths at the Iva Valley Coal Mine in what is now Enugu state.

The case was heard in Enugu High Court, where Justice Anthony Onovo ordered that 20 million pounds be paid to each family of 21 miners killed, according to the state-run news agency. The ruling sets out a total payment of 420 million pounds for the victims’ families as a remedy and compensation for violations connected to the killings.

In his verdict, Onovo said the British colonial administration was liable for the shootings that occurred when the miners were protesting harsh working conditions. The miners, the court said, occupied the mine, and colonial police opened fire, killing 21 and injuring many others.

The judge also ordered formal apologies to the victims. Onovo framed the order as part of the remedy for what the ruling described as violations of the right to life.

Onovo said the Nigerian government failed in its constitutional duty to seek redress for the killings, according to the report on the decision. Defense lawyers described the ruling as a milestone, characterizing it as delivering historical accountability and justice for colonial-era violations.

“One of the applicants’ lawyers, Yemi Akinseye-George, described the ruling as a significant milestone that delivers ‘historical accountability and justice for colonial-era violations, affirming that the right to life transcends time, borders, and changes in sovereignty,’” the report said.

The British government declined to comment, and the report said the U.K. was not represented in the court proceedings. The ruling is viewed in Nigeria as one of the triggers to agitation for independence, with independence coming 11 years later in 1960.

The court’s decision on Thursday adds to the longstanding campaign for compensation tied to one of the better-known episodes from the colonial period, centering on deaths that occurred when security forces used lethal force against miners seeking improved working conditions at the Iva Valley Coal Mine.