United Kingdom has said that it has not received official notification of a Nigerian court ruling ordering it to pay £420 million compensation to the families of 21 Coal miners killed in Enugu in 1949.
A UK government spokesperson told the BBC that, without formal notification, they could not comment on the judgment.
A Nigerian court had Thursday, ordered the British government to pay £420 million to the families of 21 miners who were shot dead by the colonial authorities 77 years ago.
The workers, who were staging a sit-in protest against working conditions and unpaid salaries at the mine in the Iva Valley, Enugu on November 18, 1949, were shot dead by the British. Police.
The case was brought by Nigerian human rights activist Mazi Greg Onoh at a court in Enugu.
Sculpture of attacks on coal miners during the protest in1949.
Judge Anthony Onovo ruled in a decision handed down on Thursday that the UK government should pay £20 million to each of the victims’ families.
Fifty-one others were wounded in the shooting that fuelled growing calls for Nigerian independence, which was finally achieved in 1960.
The families’ lawyers, Yemi Akinseye-George, said once they had a copy of the judgment, they would ask Nigeria’s attorney general and foreign ministry in Abuja to notify London and initiate ‘diplomatic steps toward compliance.
The British authorities, despite proper service, declined to enter or respond to the court process,’ he said.
During an official investigation at the time, the police had defended the shootings by saying they feared being overwhelmed.
