Biafra War: ECOWAS Court Slams N88bn Fine On FG Over Failure To Clear Landmines In South-East

The ECOWAS Community Court of Justice has remanded N88 billion in damages against the Federal Government for its failure to clear landmines and remains of explosions in the aftermath of the civil war in the south-east part of the country.

In a consent judgement delivered by Justice Chijioke Nwoke on Monday, the court gave the Federal Government a 45-day ultimatum to commence clearing and evacuation of the aftermath of the civil war.

This is coming after hundreds of mine victims of the civil war dragged the federal government before the ECOWAS court in 2012 asking for an order for the removal of ruminants of war instruments stockpiled in 11 states of the south-east, south-south and part of the north-central.

The Nigerian Civil War, commonly known as the Biafran War, was a three-year long war fought between the government of Nigeria and the secessionist state of Biafra, between 6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970.

Biafra represented nationalist aspirations of the Igbo people, whose leadership felt they could no longer coexist with the Northern-dominated federal government. The conflict resulted from political, economic, ethnic, cultural and religious tensions which preceded Britain’s formal decolonisation of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963.

Immediate causes of the war in 1966 included a military coup, a counter-coup and persecution of Igbo living in Northern Nigeria. Control over oil production in the Niger Delta played a vital strategic role.