Enugu, Nigeria — In a historic judgment more than seven decades after the tragedy, the Enugu State High Court has ordered the British government to pay £420 million in compensation to the families of 21 Nigerian coal miners killed by British colonial forces in 1949.

Delivering the ruling on Wednesday, Justice Anthony Onovo held that the killings at the Iva Valley coal mine amounted to an unlawful extrajudicial violation of the right to life, declaring the actions of the colonial authorities illegal under both domestic and international human rights principles.

The court directed the United Kingdom to issue a formal public apology to the victims’ families, to be communicated through their legal representatives and published in national newspapers in Nigeria and the UK.

Under the judgment, each of the 21 families is to receive £20 million, with post-judgment interest of 10 per cent per annum until full payment is made. The court, however, dismissed claims for pre-judgment interest and exemplary damages.

The suit was filed by human rights activist Greg Onoh, who sought official acknowledgment of liability and full reparations for the families of the slain miners. The respondents included the British government, the UK Foreign Office, the Head of the Commonwealth, as well as the Nigerian government and the Attorney-General of the Federation.

Justice Onovo further urged the Nigerian government to commence diplomatic engagement with the UK within 60 days to ensure the enforcement of the ruling and the implementation of reparations.

The massacre occurred on November 1, 1949, when miners at the Iva Valley coal mine embarked on a strike demanding improved wages and safer working conditions. According to the court, British colonial authorities ordered the mine shut, and when miners resisted, the then colonial police chief, F.S. Philip, reportedly instructed soldiers to open fire on the unarmed workers.

Twenty-one miners were killed during the incident, including 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.

“These defenceless coal miners were simply demanding humane working conditions. They posed no threat and committed no violence, yet they were shot and killed,” Justice Onovo stated.

The ruling is being widely hailed as a landmark victory for human rights and historical justice, marking one of the rare instances where a former colonial power has been held legally accountable by a Nigerian court for atrocities committed during colonial rule.