French court seizes Nigerian Presidential jets over $74.5m dispute

.FG taking legal, diplomatic steps to recover seized presidential aircraft-AGF

.Ogun Govt moves to vacate seizure order

.Aircraft seizure an international embarrassment – Peter Obi

BY ANDREW OROLUA

A French court has authorised the seizure of three presidential jets linked to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

According to sources familiar with the matter, “Two of the jets, part of the Nigerian presidential air fleet, were recently put up for sale, while the third, an Airbus 330, was purchased by Nigeria but not yet delivered.”

“The seizure of the presidential jets,” the portal said, “is a result of an application by Zhongshan, a Chinese company whose export processing zone management contract was revoked by the Ogun State government in 2016.”

According to sources “An independent arbitral tribunal chaired by the former President of the UK Supreme Court awarded Zhongshan about $74.5 million in compensation, but the Ogun State government, which has a dispute with Zhongshan, has yet to honour the award.

“The Federal Government is facing this backlash over an action taken by one of its subnationals with which Zhongshan has a business dispute.

“The seized presidential jets include a Dassault Falcon 7X at Le Bourget airport in Paris, a Boeing 737, and an Airbus 330 at Basel-Mulhouse airport in Switzerland. All are currently undergoing maintenance. The Nigerian government reportedly paid over $100 million for the Airbus.

“The court order prohibits the movement, sale, or purchase of the jets until Zhongshan receives the awarded $74.5 million. Bailiffs have served papers for each aircraft.

“The confiscation of the planes follows the recent seizure of Nigerian-owned buildings in Liverpool, England, by a UK court in relation to the same dispute with Zhongshan. The properties against which Zhongshan secured charging 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 Ogun State government and Zhongshan have been locked in a long-drawn battle over the management of an export processing zone in the South-west state.

“On 29 June 2010, Zhuhai Zhongfu Industrial Group Co Ltd, the parent company of Zhongshan, and the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone (OGFTZ) entered into a framework agreement on the establishment of Fucheng Industrial Park within the zone. The agreement gave Zhuhan the right to develop and run Fucheng Park within the zone.

“The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority registered Zhongfu International Investment (NIG) FZE, a subsidiary of Zhongshan, as a free trade zone enterprise within the OGFZ in 2011. The Ogun State government later appointed Zhongfu as the interim manager/administrator of the zone.”

Meanwhile, the office of the Attorney General of Federation has confirmed there was an attempt by a Chinese company to attach Nigeria’s Sovereign assets in France.

The AGF, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), said that his office and that of the National Security Adviser, have commenced legal and diplomatic moves to recover three of Nigeria’s presidential aircraft seized in France over a fine awarded against Ogun State.

A statement issued by Kamarudeen Ogundele, Special Assistant to the President on Communication and Publicity, Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, stated that “on 14th August 2024, the Federal Government of Nigeria became aware of the interim attachment of three presidential aircrafts undergoing routine maintenance in France.

“The said temporary attachment was made pursuant to ex parte orders issued by the Judicial Court of Paris dated 7 March 2024 and 12 August 2024 respectively at the instance of Messrs.

“Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, a Chinese company seeking to enforce a Final Award granted in its favour on 26 March 2021, against one of Nigeria’s sub-nationals, Ogun State.

“It is to be noted that the arbitral award arose from an arbitration proceeding which commenced in 2018 as a fallout of a contractual dispute between the Chinese company and Ogun State Government over the operation and management of Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone.

“We wish to clarify that, though the dispute originated from engagements of Ogun State Government, however, the consequential enforcement actions are being directed against the Federal Government and its assets in line with extant principles of international law which holds that the actions of a subnational or local entity are attributable to the State or country itself.

“The Offices of the National Security Adviser and the Attorney-General of the Federation, have already set in motion both legal and diplomatic steps to ensure the discharge of the inappropriate orders against the aircrafts, which are covered by sovereign immunity.

“While further actions are being put in place to resolve the entire dispute through available legal means, the firm position of the Federal Government remains that the aircrafts in question are sovereign assets used solely for sovereign purposes and are therefore immune from attachment as Zhongshan has sought to do”.

Also, the Ogun State Government, on Thursday, faulted the process that led to the provisional attachment of three Nigerian-owned aircraft in France by the Judicial Court of Paris.

In a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, the Ogun State Government described the latest development as the new antics by a Chinese company to appropriate Nigerian assets in foreign jurisdictions, as past efforts had continually failed.

The Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd, sought orders from the court over an aborted contract between the company and Ogun State Government, which was initiated in 2007.

The state government described the whole legal process as nothing but a total charade with fraudulent notion, adding that the company deliberately concealed the litigation from both the Nigerian government and Ogun State, as well as their lawyer before hurriedly securing orders of seizure.

It added that the company must have misled the Judicial Court of Paris as to the use and nature of the assets it sought to attach and not made full disclosure to the court as required by law.

According to the statement, Ogun State, together with the Federal Government, had already taken immediate action to ensure that those provisional attachments are lifted quickly, even as it accused the company of reneging on the earlier discussion for an amicable resolution of the case.

It likened the case to that of P&ID, describing it as very unfortunate case of unscrupulous individuals masquerading as foreign investors with the sole aim of defrauding Ogun State and Nigeria at large.

READ ALSO: Edo, Ondo Guber Polls: NSA, IGP warn against election…

“This is the latest in a series of ill-advised attempts by Zhongshan to attach Nigerian-owned assets in foreign jurisdictions, none of which have to date led to the recovery of any sums from Nigeria.

“Each of the three aircraft is used solely for sovereign purposes and as such are immune from attachment under international and French laws. In obtaining the provisional attachments, Zhongshan deliberately withheld information from the Federal Government of Nigeria, Ogun State and their legal counsel.

“Just like the P&ID case, this is another unfortunate case of unscrupulous individuals masquerading as foreign investors with the sole aim of defrauding Ogun State and Nigeria,” the statement read.

However, the 2023 Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Mr Peter Obi has described the seizure of aircraft in Nigeria’s Presidential Air Fleet as an international embarrassment.

Obi said the development has exposed Nigeria’s failed leadership and poor attitude to the rule of law in a democracy.

He said: “The trending international news on the seizure of three Jets belonging to Nigeria’s Presidential fleet is yet another of many embarrassing things exposing our failed leadership and our attitude to the rule of law even in a democracy. It has also exposed multiple dimensions to our leadership failure and our insensitivity to the plight of the growing poor class in our midst.

“The fact that the federal government went ahead with the jet deal despite the cacophonous cry against the purchase of a Presidential jet at this time when the people are going through a horrifying economic hardship shows the insensitivity of this administration.

“Added to it is the embarrassing aspect of our country’s Presidential jets being held for contractual breaches arising from yet another dimension of inadequate leadership tidiness.

“I have been loud in my demand over time that the government at all levels should be accountable to the people, meaning that they must be very transparent in all their dealings. Until a court in France prohibits Nigeria from moving or selling these three jets, Nigerians have no iota of information about both the buying and selling of these aircraft.

“It has been done in secrecy. Federal Government property, which belongs to the people, is being managed as a personal family asset. Paying as much as $100m dollars for a Presidential jet for a country that is the poverty capital of the World and has more out-of-school children with over 40% food inflation is the height of concern for the people’s feelings.

“This incident has also opened up an aspect of indiscipline that is copiously embedded in our country which is the abuse and disrespect for the rule of law.

“Here are questions begging for answers:

“To what extent did the Ogun government follow its agreement with the Chinese firm?

“After the UK court ruling that prohibited some Nigeria building in Liverpool, what did both Ogun state and Federal Government do before the French court action?

“I would like to, therefore, challenge the federal government to come clean and transparent on this matter and tell Nigerians how we got to this latest international mess.”