Justice Ibrahim Kala of the Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered British Airways to pay a Nigerian passenger, Mr. Stephen Osho, a total of N53 million in compensation for the loss of his luggage and unfair treatment.
The court awarded Osho N50 million as general damages and an additional N3 million as the cost of the action. Delivering judgment on August 21, Justice Kala held that Osho successfully proved that the airline violated its contractual obligation under international carriage rules when it failed to deliver his checked-in baggage on Flight BA307 from Paris to London on December 2, 2022.
The judge stated that Osho suffered hardship, inconvenience, and financial loss due to the airline’s conduct. British Airways had claimed that an old Air France tag, negligently left on Osho’s luggage, was responsible for the loss. However, Justice Kala dismissed this argument.
He ruled, “From the cases presented by parties before this court, there is admissible, credible and sufficient evidence to establish, on the balance of probability, that the defendant is responsible and liable for the loss of the plaintiff’s baggage during the period it was in charge of the defendant’s carrier, having cleared and issued with baggage tag No BA741520, for its flight BA307, from Paris to London on December 2, 2022, but the bag never arrived with the flight and ultimately got lost.”
Kala further said the airline’s argument “collapsed like a pack of cards,” describing it as an afterthought aimed at avoiding liability under Article 17(2) of the Montreal Convention.
He added, “I am emboldened to state that the defendant erected a weak defence regarding the so- called old Air France tag claimed to have been negligently left by the plaintiff on the bag to have been responsible for its loss, all in an attempt to exonerate the defendant’s carrier from liability under the proviso to Article 17 (2) of the Montreal convention, and which defence, with greatest respect collapsed like a park of cards.
“As rightly pointed out by the plaintiff’s counsel, the botched defence seemed to be an afterthought. Therefore, the defendant has indeed failed to offer any reasonable justification that the plaintiff negligently contributed to the loss or missing of his luggage at the material time, and has also failed to exonerate itself from liability arising from the plaintiff’s missing luggage.”
Justice Kala maintained that:
“The defendant failed to offer any reasonable justification that the plaintiff negligently contributed to the loss of his luggage, and has also failed to exonerate itself from liability. Having so found, the sole issue for determination is resolved in the positive, and this translates to mean that the defendant is liable for damage.”
Osho had filed suit FHC/L/CS/1754/2023 on August 31, 2023, seeking damages from the airline.
In its defence, British Airways argued that Osho was responsible for his situation and urged the court not to award any compensation, suggesting a maximum of N60,000 if damages were to be paid. The court dismissed this plea as untenable in light of the evidence presented.
The case involved months of legal proceedings, during which Osho testified and presented documents such as his boarding pass and baggage tag No. BA741520. Justice Kala concluded that British Airways failed to discharge the burden of proof necessary to absolve itself of liability, thereby entitling Osho to substantial damages.
