Nigerian court orders UK to pay £420m over 1949 killing of miners

The colonial police, made up of Nigerians and Europeans, shot dead workers striking for better conditions. Dozens more were injured in what the state-run News Agency of Nigeria described as one of the most notorious acts of repression under British rule in Nigeria. Historians say the killing helped galvanise support for the burgeoning anti-colonial movement that led to independence 11 years later, in 1960.

The UK government said it had not been formally notified of the judgement and so could not comment. The UK had not been represented in the proceedings, a spokesperson told the BBC. Families and rights groups have led a decades-long campaign for official acknowledgment and compensation.

The ruling, delivered by Justice Anthony Onovo in Enugu, described the massacre as unlawful and extrajudicial violation of the right to life, NAN reports. According to him, the British government must be held accountable and must make reparations to the victims’ families. “These defenceless coal miners were asking for improved work conditions, they were not embarking on any violent action against the authorities, but yet were shot and killed,” Onovo told the Enugu High Court. The workers at the Iva Valley coal mine were protesting against harsh working conditions, racial disparities in wages and unpaid back wages.