A High Court sitting in Enugu State has ordered the British Government to pay a total compensation of £420million to the families of 21 Nigerian coal miners killed by British colonial officers at the Iva Valley Coal Mine, Enugu, in 1949.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Anthony Onovo held that the killing of the miners constituted an unlawful and extrajudicial violation of their right to life, describing the incident as a grave historical injustice for which the British Government must be held accountable.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the court directed that £20million be paid to each of the families of the 21 deceased miners, bringing the total award to £420million, with post-judgment interest fixed at 10 per cent per annum until the judgment sum is fully liquidated.
The massacre occurred on November 18, 1949, at the Iva Valley Coal Mine in Enugu, then the administrative capital of the Eastern Region under British colonial rule. The miners were protesting what they described as harsh working conditions, racial discrimination in wages and the non-payment of salary arrears.
The court heard that after mine management ignored their grievances, the workers embarked on a go-slow protest and occupied the mine to forestall a planned lockout. During the protest, a British superintendent allegedly ordered colonial police to open fire on the unarmed workers, resulting in the death of 21 miners and injuries to 51 others.
The slain miners were identified as Sunday Anyasodo, Ani Oha, Andrew J. Obiekwe Okonkwo, Augustine Chiwetalu, Onoh Ugwu, Ngwu Offor, Ndunguba Eze, Okafor Agu, Livinus Ukachunwa, Jonathan Agu Ozoani, Moses Ikegbu Okoloha, Chukwu Ugwu, Thomas Chukwu, Simon Nwachukwu, Agu Alo, Ogbonnia Ani Chima, Nnaji Nwachukwu, William Nwaku, James Onoh Ekeowa, Felix Nnaji and Ani Nwaekwe.
The suit, marked E/909/2024, was instituted by human rights activist, Mazi Greg Onoh, who urged the court to compel the British Government to accept liability for the massacre, issue a formal apology and pay comprehensive compensation to the victims’ families.
The respondents in the suit included the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, the British Government, the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the Head of the Commonwealth Government of the United Kingdom. At the hearing, no legal representation appeared for the British Government and some other foreign respondents.
In his ruling, Justice Onovo dismissed arguments bordering on sovereign immunity and affirmed that Nigerian courts possess the jurisdiction to adjudicate grave historical human rights abuses, irrespective of when they occurred.
“These defenseless coal miners were asking for improved work conditions. They were not embarking on any violent action against the authorities, yet they were shot and killed,” the judge declared.
He ordered the British Government to issue unreserved written apologies to the families of the victims through their counsel, directing that the apologies be published in Nigeria’s Daily Sun, Daily Independent and The Punch, as well as in three major national newspapers in the United Kingdom. Proofs of publication are to be filed in court within 60 days, while the compensation must be paid in full within 90 days of the judgment.
Justice Onovo further faulted the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Attorney-General of the Federation for failing in their constitutional duty to seek justice for the victims, describing their decades-long inaction as a dereliction of responsibility, and ordered the Nigerian government to commence diplomatic engagement with the British Government within 60 days to ensure enforcement of the judgment. “The argument that Nigeria was under colonial rule when the killings were committed is hereby struck out,” he ruled.
Reacting to the judgment, counsel to the applicants, Prof. Yemi Akinseye-George, SAN, and P.N. Agazie, described the decision as historic and far-reaching, saying it sends a clear message that governments must be held accountable for human rights abuses regardless of the passage of time. “This ruling represents a significant milestone in the pursuit of historical accountability and justice for colonial-era violations,” Akinseye-George said, adding that it aligns with international precedents, including compensation paid by the United Kingdom to victims of abuses during the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya.
