A Nigerian court has ordered the United Kingdom government to pay £420 million in compensation to the families of 21 Nigerian coal miners killed during the 1949 Iva Valley massacre in Enugu State, marking a landmark judgment more than seven decades after the incident.
Delivering the ruling, the court held that the killing of the miners by British colonial police amounted to an unlawful and extrajudicial violation of the right to life. The judge ruled that the passage of time did not invalidate the case, stressing that grave human rights abuses remain actionable regardless of when they occurred.
Under the judgment, each of the 21 affected families is to receive £20 million, bringing the total compensation to £420 million. The court further ordered that the UK government pay 10 per cent post-judgment interest per year until the full amount is settled. Payment is to be made within 90 days.
In addition to financial compensation, the court directed the British government to issue formal, unreserved apologies to the victims’ families. These apologies are to be published in major Nigerian and UK newspapers within 60 days, with evidence of compliance submitted to the court.
The Iva Valley massacre occurred on November 18, 1949, when coal miners at the Iva Valley Coal Mine went on strike to protest poor working conditions, wage discrimination and unpaid allowances under British colonial administration. Colonial security forces opened fire on the unarmed miners, killing 21 people and injuring dozens more.
The suit was filed on behalf of the victims’ families, seeking justice, acknowledgment of responsibility and reparations for the decades-old atrocity. The court also faulted Nigerian authorities for years of inaction and directed the Federal Government to engage diplomatically with the UK to ensure enforcement of the judgment.
The ruling has been described as historic, reopening conversations about colonial-era accountability and reparations, and reinforcing the principle that governments can still be held responsible for human rights violations committed in the past.
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