25 Nigerians have filed a lawsuit against China before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court over its alleged culpability in the spread of the novel Coronavirus.
A team of 11 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) and other lawyers led by Professor Epiphany Azinge (SAN) filed the $200bn lawsuit.
The defendants in the suit were listed as the Peoples’ Republic of China, Communist Party of China, Minister of Justice China, Minister in charge of the National Health Commission, National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan Institute of Virology and Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
The 25 Nigerians are accusing China of negligence, nuisance, and breach of environmental and humanitarian rights.
According to the 1st Claimant, Kingsley Obioha who represents the class of legal practitioners in the country, they have been unable to conduct legal business and make appearances in court.
He said: “The class due to the impasse and the attendant restrictions continues to incur heavy financial losses”
Shehu Bello, the 2nd claimant and a Bureau de change operator representing the class of forex traders carrying on business across the country, argued that the forex market was shut down due to the pandemic, causing many forex traders to lose huge returns.
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“Most of the operators lost their capital because of the pandemic and with the easing of restrictions are witnessing a volatility of the market leading to a decline in investment,” the claimant said.
Among the reliefs sought include a declaration that the defendants were negligent in their handling of the COVID-19 outbreak which resulted in untold hardship, death, loss of livelihood and disruption of socio-economic activities.
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