The Presidency has finally responded to reports of a French court ordering the seizure of three Nigerian presidential jets. The court’s decision was linked to a dispute between the Ogun State government and a Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, over a botched deal involving the management of a free-trade zone.
Financial Times reported that the court ordered the seizure of the aircraft, which include a Dassault Falcon 7X, a Boeing 737-7N6/BBJ, and an Airbus A330-243. These jets were reportedly stationed at Paris-Le Bourget and Basel-Mulhouse airports.
The controversy traces back to a 2007 contract between Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited and the Ogun State government. The contract was for the management of a free-trade zone in Ogun State. However, in 2016, the Ogun State government revoked the contract due to what it described as a lack of significant progress by the Chinese company.
According to the Presidency, by the time the contract was revoked, the only work completed was the erection of a perimeter fence on the land designated for the free-trade zone. Unhappy with the revocation, Zhongshan Fucheng approached the Judicial Court of Paris to seek restitution. The company succeeded in obtaining two orders from the court on March 7, 2024, and August 12, 2024, which led to the controversial order to seize Nigeria’s presidential jets.
In a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, on Thursday, the Presidency accused the Chinese company of misleading the French court into issuing the seizure orders. The statement clarified that the dispute was between the Ogun State government and Zhongshan Fucheng, and that the Federal Government of Nigeria was not a party to the contract in question.
“The Federal Government is fully aware of efforts being made by the Ogun State Government to reach an amicable resolution on the matter,” Onanuga stated. He further explained that Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice is currently working closely with the Ogun State government to quash the case and overturn the court order.
The Presidency accused Zhongshan Fucheng of using “unorthodox means” to target Nigerian government assets abroad. Onanuga likened the case to the infamous Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID) scandal, where a foreign company secured a controversial judgment against Nigeria based on questionable claims.
Onanuga emphasised that the presidential jets in question are protected by diplomatic immunity as assets of a sovereign state. He asserted that the Chinese company withheld critical information and misled the French court about the nature and use of the assets it sought to attach. The Presidency also pointed out that Zhongshan Fucheng had previously attempted to enforce similar judgments in the United Kingdom and the United States, but these efforts were unsuccessful.
Onanuga assured Nigerians that both the Federal Government and the Ogun State government are working diligently to discharge what they describe as a “frivolous order.”
“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,” Onanuga said. He reiterated that Zhongshan Fucheng has no legitimate grounds for demanding restitution from the Ogun State government, given the minimal progress made on the project before the contract was terminated.
