UK ordered in 'milestone' court ruling to pay $570 million for colonial-era massacre

The British government has been ordered in a "milestone" court ruling to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to the descendants of victims of a colonial-era massacre of unarmed civilians in Nigeria.

Enugu High Court Justice Anthony Onovo ruled on Thursday that the UK must pay $27 million to each of the families of 21 black miners massacred for protesting the dire labor conditions at the Iva Valley Coal Mine in the southeast of the country in 1949.

Dozens more were wounded in the heavy-handed crackdown described by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as one of the most notorious acts of repression under British rule in Nigeria.

The Black miners, protesting the harsh working conditions, racial disparities in wages, and unpaid back wages, adopted a “go-slow” protest method and occupied the mine to prevent management from locking them out when their demands were not met.

The nonviolent act of disobedience by the unarmed and defenseless Black miners prompted the colonial-era British Superintendent of Police, F.S. Philip, to order the British and local police officers under his command to open fire and shoot to kill the hapless protesters, killing 21 of them and wounding 51 more.

In his ruling, the Enugu judge pointed out that the defenseless miners were carrying out a nonviolent act of protest.

“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,” according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

In addition to the aforementioned compensation, the judge ordered the UK to also pay the victims' families post-judgment interest within 90 days at a rate of 10 percent per annum until the full sum is paid. He also ordered that written apologies be published in Nigerian and British newspapers within 60 days.

One of the plaintiff lawyers hailed the court ruling as a milestone for future claims of colonial-era crimes. This ruling is “a significant milestone in the pursuit of historical accountability,” said Yemi Akinseye-George, adding that it affirms “that the right to life transcends time, borders, and changes in sovereignty.”

Ex-Kenyan official slams UK govt. over 'act of gross inhumanity and injustice'

Former chief justice of Kenya Willy Mutunga attacks the British government over what he called its "act of gross inhumanity and injustice" one month after two Kenyan tribes filed a case against the British government at the European Court of Human Rights over alleged colonial abuses.

Nigerian historians believe the Iva Valley Coal Mine incident, known in Nigeria as the 1949 Enugu Colliery Massacre, helped consolidate the fledgling anti-colonial movement that eventually led to Nigeria's independence from British rule in 1960.

Meanwhile, 10 Downing Street said it had not yet been formally notified by the Government of Nigeria of the Enugu High Court's order, and so it could not comment on whether the ruling to pay compensation to the families of the victims would be honored.

Despite insisting that it does not accept claims related to the colonial-era administration, the UK has previously settled similar historical abuse cases by paying compensation.

London agreed to pay £19.9 million in 2013 to more than 5,000 elderly Kenyans who suffered torture and abuse by British forces during the Mau Mau uprising in the 1950s in the East African British Colony of Kenya.

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