Ogun government denies knowledge of court order allowing seizure of presidential jet

The Ogun state government has said it was not informed of a Paris court order granting Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd the right to seize three Nigerian presidential jets.

The jets were seized over a dispute involving an arbitration ruling in favor of a Chinese company.

The court ruled that the Chinese firm must use three jets at Paris-Le Bourget and Basel-Mulhouse international airports “as security for its claim of EUR 74,459,221”.

The jets seized were a Dassault Falcon 7X, with registration number 5N-FGU, a Boeing 737-7N6/BBJ, with registration number 5N-FGT, and an Airbus A330-243, with registration number 5N-FGA.

But in a statement issued on Thursday, Kayode Akinmade, the governor’s special adviser on media and strategy, accused Zhongshan of misleading the Paris court by claiming the company was merely building a fence around a free trade zone. Akinmade described the seizure as a “disrespectful attempt” to seize Nigerian assets in a foreign jurisdiction.

The statement stressed that the aircraft was used solely for sovereign purposes and was immune from seizure under international and French law. It alleged that Zhongshan withheld information from the Federal Government of Nigeria, Ogun state and their legal advisors.

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Akinmade likened the P&ID case to others, describing it as another example of “unscrupulous individuals masquerading as foreign investors” seeking to defraud Ogun State and Nigeria. The statement highlighted the basic contract between Ogun State and Zhongshan, executed in 2007, and the arbitration process that began in 2016.

The Ogun State government has expressed its disagreement with the decision of an arbitration panel, which awarded the Federal Government of Nigeria more than $60 million in damages, and vowed not to allow the “unjust and baseless decision” to stand.

The statement read, “This is the latest in a series of ill-advised attempts by Zhongshan to seize Nigerian assets in foreign jurisdictions, none of which to date have resulted in the recovery of any money from Nigeria.

“Each of the three aircraft was used solely for sovereign purposes and therefore immune from seizure under international and French law. In obtaining the provisional seizure, 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.

“It is worth recalling that the basic contract between Ogun State and Zhongshan was signed in 2007, 12 years before the current administration, for the management of the free trade zone. The parties were involved in a dispute in 2015 with arbitration starting in 2016.

“In 2019, when the current Government of the State came into office, the arbitration hearing was almost over. The Arbitration Panel awarded over 60 million USD against the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) which was one of the Defendants, when all Zhongshan did was build a fence around the free trade zone. Needless to say, this was a bad/unfair decision.

“The present state government cannot in all good conscience allow such an unjust and baseless decision, which will be detrimental to the welfare of the people of Ogun, to stand.”

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