United Kingdom government has stated it has not received formal notification of a recent Enugu State High Court judgment ordering it to pay £420 million in compensation to the families of 21 Nigerian coal miners killed during the 1949 Iva Valley massacre, describing the ruling as unknown to official channels.
UK Court
A UK government spokesperson told the BBC that without such notification, it could not comment substantively on the matter, amid reports that Justice Anthony Onovo of the Enugu High Court on Thursday directed the British government to pay £20 million to each affected family for the unlawful and extrajudicial killings that violated the victims’ right to life.
The court characterised the incident, where defenceless miners peacefully protesting poor working conditions were shot dead by colonial forces on November 18, 1949, as a grave historical injustice demanding accountability, reparations, formal apologies published in major Nigerian and UK newspapers within 60 days, and payment within 90 days at 10 per cent post-judgment interest.
Rights activist Greg Onoh, who filed the suit on behalf of the victims’ families including names like Thomas Chukwu, Simon Nwachukwu, and others, secured the ruling after the British respondents, alongside some Nigerian federal entities, failed to appear or provide counsel, leading Justice Onovo to dismiss sovereign immunity claims and affirm the court’s jurisdiction over such colonial-era atrocities under Nigeria’s Constitution.
The judgment also faulted the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Attorney-General for dereliction of duty in not pursuing redress over decades, mandating diplomatic engagement with the UK within 60 days to enforce remedies under Sections 19(d) and 150(1) of the Constitution.
While no immediate response has emerged from Nigerian authorities, the case revives calls for colonial reparations, echoing the Iva Valley protest’s role as a precursor to Nigeria’s independence struggle, though enforcement against a foreign sovereign remains uncertain given the UK’s position and international legal norms.
