Three Nigerian presidential jets, including a newly purchased Airbus, have been reportedly confiscated by a French court amid legal face-off.
The aircrafts were seized under the authority of a French court following a protracted legal battle between Ogun state government and Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd, a Chinese company, according to Premium Times.
The seizure includes a newly acquired Airbus A330 valued at over $100 million.
The seized aircraft include a Dassault Falcon 7X at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, a Boeing 737, and an Airbus 330 at Basel-Mulhouse Airport in Switzerland.
The Airbus 330 was acquired by Nigeria authorities but had not yet been delivered. These jets, part of Nigeria’s presidential air fleet, were undergoing maintenance at the time of the seizure.
The legal tussle stems from a 2016 decision by the Ogun state government to revoke Zhongshan’s export processing zone management contract, leading to a long legal battle that has now spilled over into international courts.
An arbitral tribunal, headed by a former President of the UK Supreme Court, awarded the Chinese firm $74.5 million in compensation, but the Ogun government has yet to honor this award.
The federal government of Nigeria now finds itself in the cross fire due to actions taken by Ogun state government.
Though, despite repeated pleas from the federal authorities for an amicable resolution, the Ogun government has not settled the matter, resulting in the French court’s drastic action.
The seizure of the presidential jets follows the confiscation of Nigerian-owned properties in Liverpool, England.
These properties, located at 15 Aigburth Hall Road and Beech Lodge, 49 Calderstones Road, were seized under charging orders secured by Zhongshan, with their combined value estimated to be between £1.3 and £1.7 million.
The origins of this conflict date back to 2010, when Zhuhai Zhongfu Industrial Group Co Ltd, the parent company of Zhongshan, entered into a framework agreement with the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone (OGFTZ) to establish Fucheng Industrial Park.
Meanwhile, this case underscores the complex nature of international arbitration and the potential repercussions for states when contractual disputes with foreign entities are not swiftly and amicably resolved.