A coalition of Nigerian lawyers has filed a class-action suit against the Peoples Republic of China over the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nigerians. Coronavirus first erupted in China and is believed to have originated from a wet market in Wuhan.
China is believed to have covered it up, downplayed the effects, and even punished a doctor in China who raised alarm about Coronavirus. As a result, the deadly disease spread around the world, becoming a global pandemic that claimed thousands of lives and left many more ill.
The coalition of lawyers is demanding $200 billion as damages for the loss of lives, economic downturn, trauma, hardship, social disorientation, mental torture COVID-19 has caused Nigerians as well as the disruption of normal daily existence of people in Nigeria.
A statement by the lead counsel, Prof. Epiphany Azinge (SAN), whose firm, Azinge and Azinge, is championing the action, said they had concluded pleadings for the class action against the Chinese government.
Azinge is a former Director-General of the Nigeria Institute of Legal Studies (NIALS) and a current member of the Commonwealth Arbitral Tribunal London, representing Nigeria and Africa.
He said: “The team of legal experts planned a two-phase line of action-: first is with the federal high court of Nigeria and secondly to persuade the government of Federal Republic of Nigeria to institute a state action against the Peoples Republic of China at the International Court of Justice at the Hague
“The legal experts will be claiming damages to the tune of 200billion dollars the Chinese Government will be served through its Embassy in Nigeria.”
The current global death toll from COVID-19 stands at 207,895 deaths while the total number of infections globally stands at 3,013,836. The age group with the highest number of deaths are in the above 75 group, while the second-highest number of deaths globally is in the 65 – 74 age range.
