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Seventy-five years after colonial police shot and killed Nigerian coal miners for demanding fair treatment, a court in Enugu has delivered a judgment many families thought would never come.
The court ordered the British government to pay $27 million (£20 million) to each of the families of 21 miners killed in 1949 at the Iva Valley coal mine.
The miners were not criminals. They were workers asking for basic rights—fair pay, better conditions, and money already owed to them. When their demands were ignored, they slowed down work and stayed inside the mine.
They were later met with bullets.
Justice Anthony Onovo, who delivered the ruling, said the killings were illegal and violated the miners’ right to life.
“These defenseless 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,” he said.
The case was filed by rights activist Mazi Greg Onoh, after decades of silence, pain, and unanswered questions faced by the families.
Lawyer Prof Yemi Akinseye-George said the judgment speaks to Africa’s long struggle for dignity.
“This ruling represents a significant milestone in the pursuit of historical accountability and justice for colonial-era violations, affirming that the right to life transcends time, borders, and changes in sovereignty,” he said.
The killings happened in Enugu, then the capital of eastern Nigeria under British rule. Historians say the event shocked the region and strengthened resistance against colonial control.
Historian Damola Adebowale said the incident helped push Nigerians toward independence.
“Calls for independence already exist[ed] and talks [were] ongoing. The massacre was a reference point for people outlining the need for the colonialists to go,” he said.
The decision will make people around the world notice the bad things that happened during colonial times and people asking for compensation.