British government is ordered to pay £420million to the families of the 21 coal miners who were shot dead in Nigeria in 1949 during colonial rule
A Nigerian court has ordered the British government to pay £420 million to the families of 21 miners who were shot dead by the colonial authorities nearly 80 years ago. The case was brought by Nigerian human rights activist Mazi Greg Onoh at a court in Enugu. 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. A statue commemorating the killing of the coal miners in Enugu in 1949Those killed are now celebrated in the region as heroes. In 2013, the UK agreed to pay damages to more than 5,000 Kenyans who had been victims of torture and ill-treatment during the Mau Mau uprising in the 1950s.
Source: Daily Mail February 06, 2026 22:30 UTC
