A French court has ordered that three aircraft, part of Nigeria’s presidential fleet, be confiscated until a judgment debt owed to Zhongshan, a Chinese company, by Ogun State government is paid.
Two of the seized jets are a Dassault Falcon 7X at Le Bourget airport in Paris and a Boeing 737. The third is an Airbus 330 currently at Basel-Mulhouse airport in Switzerland. The first two are up for sale after maintenance work is completed. Nigeria recently purchased the third – Airbus 330 for $150 million, but it has yet to be delivered.
The seizure is due to an application by Zhongshan, whose export processing zone management contract was revoked by the Ogun State government in 2016.
In July 2016, Zhongfu alleged that the Ogun State Government had moved to terminate its appointment, which it entered into in 2010 with the state, and proceeded to appoint another developer/manager.
Both parties have since been locked in a long-drawn legal battle over the dispute.
An independent arbitral tribunal chaired by a former President of the UK Supreme Court awarded Zhongshan about $74.5 million in compensation.
An investment treaty arbitration against Nigeria was issued in March 2021, with a final award of $55,675,000, interest of $9.4 million, and costs of £2,864,445 payable by Nigeria to Zhongshan. Still, the Ogun State government did not pay.
The court order prohibits the jets’ movement, sale, or purchase until Zhongshan receives the payment. Bailiffs have served papers for each aircraft.
The Nigerian government has yet to comment on this development although it reportedly had advised Ogun State to resolve the issue amicably, but the dispute was left to linger until now.
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