Ogun Challenges Jets Seizure By French Court, Says It’s A Move To Wrongfully Claim Nigerian Assets Via “Fraudulent Legal Process”

The Ogun State Government has challenged the judicial process that led to the provisional seizure of three Nigerian government-owned aircraft in France. The Judicial Court of Paris issued the orders on March 7 and August 2, 2024, following a petition by the Chinese company Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd.

In a statement signed by Kayode Akinmade, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, the Ogun State Government called the seizures an attempt by Zhongshan to claim Nigerian assets abroad wrongfully. The government described the legal proceedings as fraudulent and claimed that Zhongshan concealed the litigation from both the Nigerian government and Ogun State, securing the court orders hastily.

Each of the three aircraft is used solely for sovereign purposes and, as such, immune from attachment under international and French law … Ogun State, in conjunction with the Federal Government of Nigeria, has taken swift action to ensure that these provisional attachments are lifted without delay,” the statement read, likening the case to the P&ID incident, describing it as an example of foreign entities attempting to defraud Nigeria.

The state government recalled that the dispute dates back to a 2007 contract between Zhongshan and the Ogun State Government for managing a free-trade zone. The statement read:

It should be recalled that the underlying contract between Ogun State and Zhongshan was executed in 2007, 12 years before the present administration, for the management of a free-trade zone. The parties entered into a dispute in 2015, with arbitration commencing in 2016.

By 2019, when the current State Administration took office, the hearing at the arbitration had been all but concluded. The Arbitral Panel awarded over 60 million USD against the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), a co-defendant, when all Zhongshan had done was build a perimeter fence around the free-trade zone. This was a wrong/unfair decision.

“The present State Administration could not in all good conscience allow such an immoral and baseless decision, which would dissipate the commonwealth of the good people of Ogun State, to stand.

“Accordingly, and based on erudite legal advice, this Administration resolved to resist the enforcement of the award. The resistance was successful in 8 different jurisdictions. Currently, there are pending appeals against recognition orders issued in both the US and UK.

It noted that despite engaging in settlement discussions with Zhongshan, the talks broke down when Zhongshan insisted on full payment of the debt.

This led to a breakdown of the mediation, with parties agreeing to meet again in the first quarter of this year. Since then, Zhongshan has, in bad faith been evasive and instead embarked on a series of enforcement proceedings, which the legal team appointed by the FGN and Ogun State have successfully opposed. In cases similar to the present one where Zhongshan obtained an ex-parte order, Ogun State has successfully set aside the orders,” the statement added.

The Ogun State Government expressed regret over any embarrassment caused to the Federal Government and the people of Ogun State. It reaffirmed its commitment to protecting Nigeria’s integrity and assets, promising to take all necessary legal steps to overturn the court orders.

The government also emphasised that it remains open to a reasonable settlement, having recently contacted Zhongshan again.

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