Professor Azinge leads 10 SANs, 12 other lawyers
Case filed Monday
Top 25 Nigerians citizens including a traditional ruler on Monday, July 6th 2020, instituted a court action at the Abuja division of the Federal High Court, claiming $200 billion as damages against the Chinese Government and seven other institutions in the country for untold hardship, deaths and disruption of socio-economic activities, among others, they suffered in Nigeria.
Institutions listed as defendants in the case includes
1) Peoples’ Republic of China
2) Communist Party of China
3) Minister of Justice China
4) Minister in charge of the National Health commission
5) National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China,
6) Chinese Academy of Sciences
7) Wuhan Institute of Virology and
8) Chinese Centre for Disease and Prevention
Former Director General of the Nigerian Institute for Advanced Legal Studies, Professor Epiphany Azinge, is leading 22 other senior lawyers in the case, including 10 Senior Advocates of Nigeria.
Claimants claims in the 76 page document are as follows
* A declaration that the Defendants were negligent in their handling of the Covid-19 outbreak and breached their duty of care owed to the Claimants and other members of the class thereof, resulting in untold hardship, death, loss of livelihood and disruption of socio-economic activities.
* A declaration that the Defendants handling of the Covid-19 outbreak violated the Claimants’ humanitarian rights guaranteed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, resulting in social exclusion, loss of human dignity psychological trauma and social deprivations.
* A declaration that the Defendants’ actions in willfully allowing the escape and spread of coronavirus (Covid 19) constituted nuisance and interfered with the Claimants right to enjoy comfort and convenience and has endangered the lives, and health of the public in general.
* A declaration that the Defendants, on account of its polluting activities are liable to be held responsible for the outbreak of Covid-19 under trans- boundary environmental law.
* An award of the sum of US$200,000,000,000 (Two hundred billion United States U.S. Dollars only or its Naira equivalent) as general damages for the Defendants acts of negligence, nuisance, breach of environmental and humanitarian rights which occasioned on the Claimants and other members of the class, illness, death, loss of employment and significant economic damages.
* Interest on the Judgement sum entered for the Claimants at 10% from the date of judgment until final payment.
* Cost of this action on a full indemnity basis, including but not limited to cost of legal representatives’ fees and expenses.
Global Upfront Newspapers (GUN) had earlier reported how the Chinese government had rejected service of demand notice sent by the claimants to Beijing via an international couriers company.
Presidency in China refused to acknowledge the service sent via international courier service, mother DHL.
The lead Counsel in the suite, which has generated international attentions, Professor Azinge, had told the media in Abuja that they were not deterred by the rejection of the dervice to demand, pointing out that their cause is just and intentions noble.
He assured that details of their demand will soon be made public after filing.
GUN had also reported that the group of lawyers established a two-phase action plan, as they will first go to the federal high court of Nigeria and, second, to persuade the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to institute a State action against the People’s Republic of China at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague.
Previously, an Egyptian lawyer has pressed charges against Chinese President Xi Jinping, calling on his country to pay $10 trillion in damages caused by the novel coronavirus in Egypt.
In a related development, last month, the U.S. State of Missouri filed a lawsuit against the Chinese government over the coronavirus, alleging that the nation’s officials are to blame for global pandemic.