Again, Nigerian government warms up to S/East, accepts to pay N88bn compensation to Biafra war victims

The Nigerian government on Monday accepted it would release N88 billion as compensation to victims of the Nigeria/Biafra civil war which started in 1967 and ended in 1970, that is, 47 years ago.

Part of the money, it said would also be used to demine and destroy abandoned explosives within the South-East, South-South and North Central regions of the country.

This was sequel to a suit marked ECW/CCJ/APP/06/12, and filed before the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court on May 2, 2012, by one Vincent Agu and 19 others against the Federal Government and five others..

In an agreement the Federal Government entered before the court in Abuja on Monday, its terms stated among others that N50 billion of the total money will be for the compensation of “true victims” of the civil war, while the remaining N38 billion will be paid to contractors to totally and completely demine and destroy abandoned bombs and landmines within the regions.

The document which the court adopted as its consent judgment had noted that RSB Holdings Nigeria Limited and Deminers Concept Nigeria Limited, two different firms in 2009 entered into a deal with the government to carry out demining exercise in the war affected areas.

The two firms were said to have engaged the services of medical experts who conducted exercise to screen and identify true victims of the war.

“All the parties to this suit acknowledge that 685 persons were selected and classified as survivors while 493 of them were confirmed as victims of either landmines or other dangerous military ordnance including locally fabricated weapons, hence entitled to compensation including their families and communities.

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“Whereas the parties also acknowledged that a total of over 17, 000 bombs were recovered and destroyed by the 4th and 5th Respondents (the contractors), while a total of 1, 317 are still in the stockpile located at the Mine Action Center, Owerri, Imo State, large quantity of live bombs still litter the Applicant’s communities,” the court said.

The matter is said to have been on for four years now before the Federal Government eventually opted for an out-of-court- settlement.

To benefit from the agreement are Anambra, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Ebonyi, Cross River, Abia, Enugu and Benue states.

 

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