By BONIFACE AKARAH

The Federal High Court in Abuja is scheduled to hear on Thursday, November 5, a suit seeking ₦66 trillion in damages over alleged decades of systemic exclusion and neglect of persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups in Nigeria.

The applicants, In a notice dated October 27, 2026, said the matter, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1824/2026, would come up before Justice Salim Olasupo Ibrahim at Courtroom 13, Fourth Floor, of the Federal High Court Complex, Abuja, at 9am.

The applicants said they had transmitted re-edited court pleadings to the court and the respondents, including the Attorney-General of the Federation, with the aim of securing judicial orders on disability rights, rehabilitation, accessibility and institutional reforms.

They are seeking ₦66 trillion in general, structural and punitive damages, calculated at ₦1 trillion for each of the 66 years since Nigeria’s independence in 1960.

The applicants described the claim as compensation for what they termed decades of systemic exclusion and state neglect, while asking the court to determine the proposed reliefs.

They also want the court to direct that any funds awarded be managed jointly by a proposed Federal Ministry of Disability and Institute for Rehabilitation Affairs and an ad hoc consortium serving as an Independent Monitoring Mechanism.

Another relief seeks to give the monitoring mechanism a direct role in evaluating and screening candidates for ministerial and principal positions in the proposed ministry, with the stated aim of ensuring that persons with disabilities occupy the leadership positions.

The applicants further seek funding for nationwide accessibility upgrades, clinical rehabilitation and a grassroots village movement across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones and 774 local government areas.

Their proposed programme also includes STEMAC education — covering science, technology, engineering, mathematics, arts and culture — as well as artificial intelligence, blockchain, coding and robotics, from kindergarten through adult continuing education.

The claim Identifies eight groups for financial redress, rehabilitation and legal protection. They include vulnerable children and young people, persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, neurodivergent and psychosocial disabilities, trafficking survivors, victims of domestic violence, people living with complex trauma, internally displaced persons, wounded veterans, older citizens and incarcerated persons.

On the international dimension of the case, the applicants said the proceedings were linked to Nigeria’s obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD).

They stated that they were acting as a civil society Independent Monitoring Mechanism under Articles 4.3 and 33.3 of the convention and intended to submit a compliance shadow report to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by December 13, 2026.

The applicants also cited the African Protocol on Disability, the 1999 Constitution, Nigeria’s Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 and several provisions of the UN convention as legal authorities supporting their demands.

They referenced the United States case, In re NFL Players Concussion Injury Litigation, and the Supreme Court of Nigeria decision in Attorney-General of Kogi State v. Attorney-General of the Federation, as precedents they intend to rely on in advancing their arguments.

The applicants further said they had invited UN Deputy Secretary-General, Dr Amina Mohammed, to participate in a proposed judicial mediation mechanism under relevant provisions of the disability rights convention.

The notice was signed by Lady Omotunde Ellen Thompson, co-founder and life chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities of Nigeria; Chief Eric Ndubueze Ufom, president and chief executive of Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities International; and retired Brigadier-General Dr Lonsdale Oladeji Adeoye, president of the Foundation for the Support of Nigerian Veterans.

The applicants said the forthcoming hearing would provide an opportunity to present the re-edited reliefs and demonstrate the progress of the case ahead of their planned.