The Nigerian Presidency has uncovered failed attempts by Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd., a Chinese company, to take over Nigeria’s presidential jets, which are offshore assets of the country.
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These attempts were made through deceptive means, according to a statement from Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
Onanuga revealed that Zhongshan had misled the Judicial Court in Paris into issuing an order to attach Nigeria’s presidential jets as part of a judgment against the Ogun State government. The jets were in France for routine maintenance at the time.
He emphasized that the presidential jets are assets of a sovereign nation, protected by diplomatic immunity, which prevents any foreign court from issuing orders against them. “We are convinced the Chinese company misled the Judicial Court of Paris regarding the use and nature of the assets it seeks to attach and did not fully disclose to the court as required by law,” Onanuga stated.
He clarified that the Federal Government has no contractual obligations with Zhongshan. “The case in which Zhongshan is trying to use every unorthodox means to strip our offshore assets is between the company and the Ogun State government,” he added. Onanuga also noted that the Ogun State government is actively working towards an amicable resolution to the matter.
Onanuga pointed out that Zhongshan has no solid ground to demand restitution from the Ogun State government. He explained that the 2007 contract between the company and the state government involved managing a free-trade zone. However, by the time the contract was revoked in 2015, the company had only erected a perimeter fence on the land designated for the free trade zone.
Despite ongoing efforts by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to reach a settlement, Zhongshan obtained two court orders from the Judicial Court of Paris, dated March 7 and August 12. Neither the Federal Government of Nigeria nor the Ogun State government was duly notified of these orders.
Onanuga condemned this “arm-twisting tactic” by Zhongshan, calling it part of a broader trend of failed attempts to seize Nigerian government assets in foreign jurisdictions. He accused certain unscrupulous individuals and companies of falsely presenting themselves as investors, with the aim of defrauding African governments.
He also revealed that Zhongshan had previously tried to enforce its questionable judgment in both the UK and USA but failed. “Zhongshan appeared to have sold the judgment they got to a venture capitalist seeking to make money by embarrassing the Federal Government and President Bola Tinubu,” Onanuga claimed.
He assured Nigerians that the Federal Government, in collaboration with the Ogun State government, is working to overturn this “frivolous order” from Paris. “The Nigerian government will always work to protect our national assets from predators and shylocks who masquerade as investors,” he concluded.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the contract between Ogun State and Zhongshan was signed in 2007, leading to a dispute in 2015 and subsequent arbitration in 2016. The Arbitral Panel eventually awarded over $60 million against the Federal Government of Nigeria, despite Zhongshan’s minimal work on the project.
Ogun State has successfully resisted the enforcement of this award in eight different jurisdictions and remains engaged in settlement discussions with Zhongshan. However, Zhongshan has recently become evasive, opting instead to pursue enforcement proceedings, which have been successfully opposed by the legal teams representing the Federal Government and Ogun State.
In conclusion, Onanuga reaffirmed Ogun State’s commitment to a reasonable settlement, noting that the state recently reached out to Zhongshan with a new offer, only to receive a response after the Chinese company had already obtained the latest court order.
