By Damilare Adeleye
The Nigerian Presidency has accused Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, a Chinese firm, of misleading a French court in a legal dispute that led to the seizure of three presidential jets.
It was recalled that the company, whose export processing zone management contract was revoked by the Ogun State government in 2016, had approached the court seeking to claim the assets as part of its ongoing dispute.
Meanwhile, the Presidency has asserted that the presidential jets, which are critical for state functions, cannot be subject to seizure or any such claims.
An independent arbitral tribunal, chaired by a former UK Supreme Court President, had awarded Zhongshan approximately $74.5 million in compensation.
The seized 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 three aircraft are currently undergoing maintenance.
The Nigerian government reportedly paid over $100 million for the Airbus.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued on Thursday, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, said Zhongshan is attempting to use unorthodox means to strip Nigerian government offshore assets.
Onanuga noted that the issue is between the company and the Ogun State Government.
Onanuga said, “The Presidency is aware of the various failed attempts by a Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, to take over offshore assets of the Federal Government of Nigeria through subterfuge.
“The Federal Government is not under any contractual obligation with the company. The case in which Zhongshan is trying to use every unorthodox means to strip our offshore assets is between the company and the Ogun State Government.”
He explained that the Federal Government is fully aware of efforts being made by the Ogun State Government to reach an amicable resolution on the matter.
“It must be said without any equivocation that Zhongshan has no solid ground to demand restitution from the Ogun State Government based on the facts regarding the 2007 contract between the company and the State Government to manage a free-trade zone.
“When the contract with Ogun State was revoked in 2015, the company had only erected a perimeter fence on the land earmarked for a free trade zone.
“While the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice is working with the Ogun State Government on an amicable resolution, Zhongshan obtained two orders from the Judicial Court of Paris dated March 7, 2024, and August 12, 2024, without any notice being duly served on the Federal Government of Nigeria and Ogun State Government.
“This arm-twisting tactic by the Chinese company is the latest in a long list of failed moves to attach Nigerian government-owned assets in foreign jurisdictions.”
He explained that the material facts in the transaction between the Ogun State Government and Zhongshan point to another P&ID case in which unscrupulous and questionable individuals falsely present themselves as investors with the sole objective of undercutting and scamming Governments in Africa.
“Undoubtedly, Zhongshan withheld vital information and misled the Judicial Court in Paris into attaching the Nigerian government’s presidential jets, which are on routine maintenance in France.
Onanuga added said the use and nature of the presidential jets as assets of a sovereign entity whose assets are protected by diplomatic immunity forbid any foreign court from issuing an order against them.
He said, “We are convinced the Chinese company misled the Judicial Court of Paris regarding the use and nature of the assets it seeks to attach and did not fully disclose to the court as required by law.“This same Chinese company had tried to enforce its questionable judgment in the UK and USA but failed.”
“We want to assure Nigerians that the Federal Government is working with the Ogun State Government to discharge this frivolous order in Paris immediately,” he said.