A French court has ordered the confiscation of three presidential aircraft associated with the Federal Government.
As reported by the Financial Times, the aircraft designated for seizure include a Dassault Falcon 7X, a Boeing 737-7N6/BBJ, and an Airbus A330-243, owned by the Nigerian federal government, currently located at Paris-Le Bourget and Basel-Mulhouse airports.
This results from an application submitted by Zhongshan, a Chinese company whose export processing zone management contract was terminated by the Ogun State Government in 2016.
The recent judgment marks the latest arbitration attempt by a foreign company, accusing Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, of breaching an agreement.
In 2013, Zhongfu, a subsidiary of the Chinese investment firm Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment, entered into an agreement with the Ogun State Government to establish a free trade zone.
According to the terms of the agreement, Zhongfu was to hold a 60 percent ownership stake in the joint venture.
Nonetheless, three years subsequent, Zhongfu claimed that Ogun had withdrawn from the agreement and sought to acquire control of the “substantial” Chinese investment in the free trade zone.
The company stated that a “series of unlawful actions” against it ultimately compelled them to withdraw from the agreement.
In 2018, Zhongshan commenced arbitration proceedings against Nigeria.
In 2021, a three-member arbitration tribunal in London ruled that the federal government must pay the company $70 million in damages. The award, with accrued interest, has now increased to approximately $81 million.
“The arbitration panel stated, ‘It is evident that Zhongsan emerges as the prevailing party in these arbitral proceedings. It has successfully demonstrated the accuracy of its account of events, overcome Nigeria’s jurisdictional and preliminary challenges, validated its claim against Nigeria under the Treaty, and secured an award for significant damages.'”
According to a source cited by the Financial Times, Zhongshan initiated the enforcement order related to the latest ruling at the Paris Judicial Court due to the aircraft being stationed in France.
The federal government has not yet issued a statement on the matter.
