The British High Commission in Nigeria has said it is not aware of, and has not been formally notified about, the Enugu High Court judgment ordering the British Government to pay £220 million in compensation to the families of 21 coal miners killed in Enugu in 1949.

Justice Anthony Onovo of the Enugu State High Court delivered the judgment on Thursday, awarding damages over the killing of the miners during the colonial era at the Iva Valley Coal Mine.

Responding to enquiries on the ruling, a spokesperson for the British High Commission in Abuja said the UK Government was neither represented in the proceedings nor officially served with the court’s decision.

“The UK Government has not been formally notified of this judgment and was not represented in these proceedings. In light of the above, it would not be appropriate to comment,” the spokesperson said.

The tragic incident occurred on November 18, 1949, at the Iva Valley Coal Mine in Enugu, then the administrative capital of the Eastern Region of British-administered Nigeria. The miners were protesting harsh working conditions, racial wage discrimination and the non-payment of back wages.

When their grievances were not addressed, the workers embarked on a “go-slow” protest and occupied the mine to prevent management from locking them out. The protest reportedly escalated when a British colonial superintendent opened fire on the miners, killing 21 and injuring at least 51 others.

The victims of the shooting included 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 and Chukwu Ugwu.

Others were Thomas Chukwu, Simon Nwachukwu, Agu Alo, Ogbonnia Ani Chima, Nnaji Nwachukwu, William Nwaku, James Onoh Ekeowa, Felix Nnaji and Ani Nwaekwe.

The court ruling has revived historical memories of the Iva Valley massacre, widely regarded as a defining moment in Nigeria’s anti-colonial labour struggle, though the British authorities have yet to officially respond to the verdict.