FG Loses Three Presidential Jets To Chinese Company Over Unpaid Debt
There are strong indications that a French Court on Wednesday, August 14, 2024 granted an order for the seizure of three presidential jets purchased by the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The confiscated presidential jets recently purchased by the Presidency include a Dassault Falcon 7X at Le Bourget airport in Paris, a Boeing 737, and an Airbus 330 at Basel-Mulhouse airport in Switzerland.
The court’s decision followed a lawsuit instituted by Zhongshan, a Chinese company, to ensure the payment of a $74.5 million compensation award.
Forefront News gathered that the court granted the order in a ruling on the lawsuit which bars the Federal Government of Nigeria from moving and selling the jets until one of its subnational, Ogun State, pays Zhongshan the awarded $74.5 million compensation.
The confiscation of the planes followed the recent seizure of Nigerian-owned buildings in Liverpool, England, by a UK court regarding the same dispute with Zhongshan.
The properties against which Zhongshan secured the orders are located at 15 Aigburth Hall Road, Liverpool and Beech Lodge, 49 Calderstones Road, Liverpool, estimated by the company to be worth between £1.3 and £1.7 million.
The Chinese firm had approached the court seeking an order compelling Nigeria to pay a $70 million investment treaty award.
It was gathered that the crisis began in 2010 when Zhongshan, through Zhuhai Zhongfu Industrial Group Co. Ltd (Zhuhai), its Chinese parent company, acquired rights to develop a free trade zone in Ogun state.
However, a year later, Zhongshan set up Zhongfu International Investment (NIG) FZE (Zhongfu), a Nigerian entity, to manage the project under the permission of the Ogun state government.
But, in July 2016, the company accused the Ogun State government of abruptly terminating its appointment while attempting to install a new manager for the free trade zone.
Accordingly, Zhongfu initiated an investment treaty arbitration against Nigeria under the bilateral investment treaty between the People’s Republic of China and Nigeria (the China-Nigeria BIT).
Subsequently, the arbitrators ruled that Nigeria was in breach of its obligations under the China-Nigeria BIT and awarded Zhongshan compensation of around $70 million.
Again, in January 2022, the Chinese company initiated a case to seek enforcement of the arbitration award.
In spite of Nigeria pleading State immunity, it was turned away by Sara Cockerill, a High Court judge, who said the country abused the time frame for appealing arbitral awards.
