In response to the recent seizure of presidential jets, the Federal Government of Nigeria has accused Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, a Chinese company, of deceitful practices.
The controversy arose after a French court ruled in favor of the Chinese firm, allowing it to seize the jets as “security” in a dispute involving a decades-old arbitration award between the company and the Ogun State Government. The government has stated that it is working closely with Ogun State to overturn what it describes as a “frivolous order.”
According to a statement from presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, the Chinese company is attempting to “take over offshore assets of the Federal Government of Nigeria through subterfuge.” The dispute dates back to 2007, when Zhongshan signed a contract with the Ogun State Government to manage a free-trade zone—a contract that was revoked in 2015. Following the revocation, Zhongshan initiated an investment treaty arbitration against Nigeria under the China-Nigeria Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). The arbitrators ruled in favor of Zhongshan, awarding the company millions of dollars in compensation.
Both the Nigerian government and Ogun State have appealed the ruling in various jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and the United States. The latest legal action took place in France, where the court authorized the seizure of three Nigerian presidential jets undergoing routine maintenance. The Nigerian government, however, maintains that it has “no contractual obligation with the company” and that the case is strictly between Zhongshan and the Ogun State Government.
Onanuga criticized Zhongshan’s actions, comparing the situation to the P&ID scandal, where fraudulent individuals posed as investors to exploit African governments. He accused the Chinese company of misleading the Paris court into issuing an order to attach the presidential jets, which are protected by diplomatic immunity as sovereign assets. Onanuga also highlighted that, despite ongoing efforts by the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Ogun State Government to resolve the matter, Zhongshan secured two court orders in Paris on March 7, 2024, and August 12, 2024, without proper notice to the Nigerian or Ogun State Governments.
This court order has emerged at a time when concerns about the condition of Nigeria’s Presidential Air Fleet are growing. President Bola Tinubu has recently had to rely on hired jets for official trips due to the deteriorating state of the presidential jets, underlining the urgency of addressing the fleet’s diminishing capacity. Onanuga assured Nigerians that the government is committed to protecting the country’s national assets from predatory companies and is actively working to overturn the Paris court’s order.
