The Federal High Court in Abuja is scheduled to hear on Thursday, November 5, 2026, a landmark suit seeking ₦66 trillion in damages over alleged decades of systemic exclusion, discrimination and neglect of persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups in Nigeria.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1824/2026, is expected to come before Justice Salim Olasupo Ibrahim at Courtroom 13, Fourth Floor, Federal High Court Complex, Abuja, at 9am, according to a hearing notice dated October 27, 2026.
The applicants disclosed that they had submitted re-edited court pleadings to the court and the respondents, including the Attorney-General of the Federation, seeking judicial interventions on disability rights, rehabilitation, accessibility and institutional reforms.
They are demanding ₦66 trillion in general, structural and punitive damages, calculated at ₦1 trillion for each of the 66 years since Nigeria gained independence in 1960. The applicants described the claim as compensation for what they characterised as decades of systemic exclusion and government neglect of persons with disabilities and other vulnerable populations.
Among the proposed reliefs is a request for the establishment of a Federal Ministry of Disability and Institute for Rehabilitation Affairs, alongside an independent monitoring mechanism to oversee the management and utilisation of any funds awarded by the court.
The applicants are also seeking a role for the proposed monitoring mechanism in evaluating and screening candidates for ministerial and principal positions in the proposed ministry, with the objective of ensuring that persons with disabilities occupy leadership positions within the institution.
Other demands include nationwide accessibility improvements, clinical rehabilitation services and the establishment of a grassroots village movement across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones and 774 local government areas.
The proposed programme also covers STEMAC education, incorporating science, technology, engineering, mathematics, arts and culture, as well as training in artificial intelligence, blockchain, coding and robotics, from kindergarten to adult continuing education.
The claim identifies eight categories of vulnerable populations for financial redress, rehabilitation and legal protection. These include children and young people, persons with physical, sensory, intellectual, neurodivergent and psychosocial disabilities, survivors of human trafficking and domestic violence, people living with complex trauma, internally displaced persons, wounded veterans, older citizens and incarcerated persons.
On the international front, the applicants said the case was connected 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 planned 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, the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 and relevant provisions of the UN Convention as legal foundations for their demands.
They further 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 judicial precedents they intend to rely on in presenting their arguments.
The notice also disclosed that the applicants had invited the United Nations 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 jointly 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 November 5 hearing would provide an opportunity to present the revised reliefs and update the court on developments in the case.
Inclusive News Network notes that the ₦66 trillion claim represents the applicants’ demands before the court and does not constitute a judicial award or determination.
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