Ogun kicks as French court seizes three Nigerian presidential jets

The Ogun State Government has confirmed the recent seizure of three Nigerian government presidential aircraft by a French court.

The French court grounded the jets due to a contract dispute between the Ogun State government and Zhongshan, a Chinese company that had entered into an agreement with the state government.

The contract between the two parties, however, hit a deadlock and was revoked by the state government in 2016.

Following this disagreement, the Chinese firm took both the state government and the Federal Government to court, prompting the French court to seize the three presidential aircraft within its jurisdiction.

Earlier, an independent arbitral tribunal had awarded Zhongshan approximately $74.5 million in compensation. However, the Ogun State government, which disputes this award, has yet to honour it.

In a swift response, the state government described the judicial action as unfair and threatened to contest the order.

In a statement on Thursday, signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, the state government condemned the development as a new tactic by the Chinese company to seize Nigerian assets in foreign jurisdictions, noting that past efforts had continually failed.

The statement reads in part, “Each of the three aircraft is used solely for sovereign purposes and, as such, is immune from attachment under international and French law. In securing the provisional attachments, Zhongshan deliberately withheld information from the Federal Government of Nigeria, Ogun State, and their legal counsel.”

Akinmade further alleged that Zhongshan misled the Paris court regarding the nature and use of the seized assets.

“Shockingly, it also appears to have misled the Judicial Court of Paris about the use and nature of the assets it seeks to attach and failed to make full disclosure to the court as required by law.

“Ogun State, in conjunction with the Federal Government of Nigeria, has taken swift action to ensure that these provisional attachments are lifted without delay.”

The government likened the situation to the P&ID case, insisting that “this is another unfortunate instance of unscrupulous individuals posing as foreign investors with the sole aim of defrauding Ogun State and Nigeria.”

Akinmade recalled that the contract between the state and Zhongshan was executed in 2007, 12 years before the Dapo Abiodun-led government, for the management of a free-trade zone. The parties entered into a dispute in 2015, with arbitration commencing in 2016.

“By 2019, when the current State Administration took office, the arbitration hearing had been nearly concluded. The Arbitral Panel awarded over $60 million against the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), which was a co-defendant, despite Zhongshan merely constructing a perimeter fence around the free-trade zone. Needless to say, this was a flawed and unfair decision.”

Efforts by the PUNCH to obtain a certified true copy of the judgment for further insights into the matter are ongoing.