ECOWAS Court orders FG to pay N88bn Civil War Damages

The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice has ruled in favour of mine victims of the Nigerian Civil War, ordering that the Federal Government pay N88 billion in damages.

According to TheCable, the mine victims had in 2012 approached the ECOWAS court and asked for an order to have to FG remove the remnants of the war materials stockpiled in 11 states in the South-East, South-South, and North-Central parts of the country.

The victims had asked that the court order the Federal Government to rehabilitate the affected areas and compensate them for the damages.

The court, granting the application on Monday, asked that the Federal Government clear the area of live mines, and pay compensation amounting to a total of N88 billion.

The ruling ordered that the Federal Government:

undertakes to pay, without delay, compensation in the summer of N50 billion in full and final sum to the victims, their families and communities as contained in Schedule 4(1) to this terms of settlement.

undertakes to lay a total sum of N38 billion as contained in schedule 4(2) to this terms of settlement for the purposes of carrying out total demining and destruction, rebuilding of public buildings, mine center activities, construction of class rooms, provision of prosthetic and all other activities enumerated there under.

undertakes to complete the demining and deconstruction of landmines and bombs in the Nigeria civil war affected states of south-east, south-south and part of the north-central of Nigeria covering eleven states as contained in schedule 1 to this terms of settlement.

undertakes to mobilise the 4th and 5th respondents back to work to complete the final phase of the ongoing removal and destruction of post-war lethal materials, the 4th and 5th respondents having satisfactorily carried out the first phase of the contract.

The court also asked that the Federal Government make the settlement in “a reasonable time not exceeding 45 days from the day of his judgement.”

It was reported that about 302 locations across Benue, Enugu, Abia, Cross River, Ebonyi and Delta, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Anambra and Imo states were affected.