A group of 11 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) and other lawyers led by Professor Epiphany Azinge (SAN) has filed a lawsuit against China over coronavirus pandemic demanding $200billion compensation.
According to the lawyers, the COVID-19 pandemic began due to China’s negligence, nuisance, and breach of the environmental and humanitarian rights of their government.
According to reports sighted on Lindaikejisblog, 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 team listed several Nigerians affected by the pandemic with Shehu Mohammed Bello among other twenty others to be compensated.
“The class due to the impasse and the attendant restrictions continues to incur heavy financial losses” , said by Kingsley Obioha, a young learned lawyer who represents the class of legal practitioners in the country.
The therefore, accused China of failing to act in accordance with the Articles and the provisions of the International Health Regulations, 2005 which it equally ratified on June 15, 2007 (the IHR) and failing to promptly inform the World Health Organisation (WHO) of its discoveries relating to Covid-19.
They argue that China’s action constitutes a breach of the above Articles, and admittedly an express neglect of an international obligation.
