FG Accuses Chinese Firm of Fraudulent Bid to Seize Jets

The Nigerian government has accused a Chinese company of making fraudulent attempts to seize the country’s assets abroad, including presidential jets, following a legal dispute.

Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited is under scrutiny by the Federal Government of Nigeria for deceitful actions, following a French court’s verdict in favor of the company to confiscate Nigerian presidential jets.

According to a statement made by the presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga on Thursday, it was alleged that the Chinese company is attempting to acquire “offshore assets of Nigeria’s Federal Government” through deceptive means.

The Parisian court resolved the dispute related to an arbitrational award by ruling in favor of a Chinese company. The verdict permits them to apprehend three normal maintenance presidential planes located in France as “collateral” for claims made against Ogun State government, regarding a legal matter that spans over multiple decades.

In 2007, a foreign company entered into an agreement with the Ogun State government to oversee operations in a free-trade zone. However, the state government terminated this contract in 2015.

Zhongshan was displeased and therefore commenced an arbitration process for the investment treaty against Nigeria, citing it under the China-Nigeria BIT agreement between the People’s Republic of China and Nigeria.

Millions of dollars were awarded to Zhongshan as compensation by the arbitrators who found Nigeria guilty for violating its duties under the China-Nigeria BIT.

The matter was appealed by the Nigerian government and subnational entities in eight jurisdictions, which included both the United Kingdom and the United States.

Routine maintenance is currently being carried out on three Nigerian presidential jets in France, which happens to be the latest jurisdiction.

As per reports, the court in Paris ruled that the jets were seized to safeguard the claim resulting from an arbitration award dated 26 March 2021 which was granted by an ad hoc arbitral tribunal.

The company is not under any contractual obligation with the Nigerian government, as per their statement.

Onanuga criticized Zhongshan’s reckless efforts to seize our offshore assets, stating that the issue of compensation is solely between the company and Ogun State Government. According to him, Zhongshan lacks a legitimate basis for demanding restitution from Ogun State Government due to the details surrounding their 2007 contract with regards to free-trade zone management.

He stated that the company had only built a boundary wall on the land set aside for a free trade zone when its agreement with Ogun State was terminated in 2015.

Onanuga noted that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi has been collaborating with Ogun State Government for a friendly settlement. However, he mentioned that Zhongshan acquired two court orders from Paris’ Judicial Court on March 7th and August 12th in the year 2024 without notifying any concerned parties including Federal ones.

The Chinese company’s employment of arm-twisting tactics represents the most recent addition to a lengthy history of unsuccessful attempts to seize Nigerian government-owned assets in foreign jurisdictions.

It seems that the Ogun State Government’s dealings with Zhongshan resemble another P&ID situation, where deceitful and suspicious individuals pose as investors merely to defraud African governments.

According to him, the foreign company had not disclosed essential details and deceived the Paris Judicial Court into impounding Nigeria’s presidential jets that were undergoing regular maintenance in France.

Foreign courts are not authorized to issue orders against the Presidential jets due to their status as assets of a sovereign entity protected by diplomatic immunity.

The Federal Government is working closely with the Ogun State Government to ensure that this baseless court request in Paris is resolved promptly, and we want Nigerian citizens to be reassured of our commitment.

He noted that the Nigerian Government will continuously strive to safeguard our national assets from predators and fraudsters who falsely pose as investors.

The court ordered due to the ongoing dispute over President Bola Tinubu’s proposed acquisition of a new presidential aircraft, as he has been compelled to utilize private jets for official trips lately owing to malfunctioning government planes.

Lately, the condition of health for the Presidential Air Fleet has been a matter of concern.

The inability of Vice President Kashim Shettima to attend the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit, which was organized by the Corporate Council on Africa, was caused by a malfunctioning presidential aircraft in May.

In December of last year, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) offered a Falcon 900B presidential plane for sale and invited prospective buyers to submit their bids.