The presidency has accused Zhongshan of fraud, alleging that it deceived a Paris court in order to seize Nigeria’s diplomatic immunity-protected assets.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga denied that the Federal Government and Zhongshan had any contractual agreement, emphasizing that the planes are sovereign assets, shielded from judicial seizure by foreign courts by diplomatic immunity.
Onanuga stressed that the ongoing legal issues pertain exclusively to Zhongshan and Ogun State Government, and not the Federal Government.
“Undoubtedly, Zhongshan withheld vital information and misled the Judicial Court in Paris into attaching the Nigerian government’s presidential jets, which are on routine maintenance in France. The use and nature of the Presidential jets as assets of a sovereign entity whose assets are protected by diplomatic immunity forbid any foreign Court from issuing an order 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. This same Chinese company had tried to enforce its questionable judgment in the UK and USA but failed.”
Onanuga stated that Zhongshan’s attempt to seize the Federal Government of Nigeria’s offshore assets “by subterfuge” is well known to the Presidency.
Onanuga said “The Federal Government is not under any contractual obligation with the company. 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.
“The Federal Government is fully aware of efforts being made by the Ogun State Government to reach an amicable resolution on the matter. It must be said without any equivocation that Zhongshan has no solid ground to demand restitution from the Ogun State Government based on the facts regarding the 2007 contract between the company and the State Government to manage a free-trade zone.”
He noted that, given the circumstances of the 2007 contract and its subsequent annulment in 2015, Zhongshan’s demand for reimbursement is without merit.
Onanuga pointed out that Zhongshan had obtained two court orders—dated August 12, 2024 and March 7, 2024—from the Judicial Court of Paris without informing Ogun State or the federal government.
He compared the issue to the historic P&ID case, in which dishonest businesses attempted to deceive African nations, and termed these moves as part of Zhongshan’s succession of unsuccessful attempts to seize assets owned by the Nigerian government abroad.
“While the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice is working with the Ogun State Government on an amicable resolution, Zhongshan obtained two orders from the Judicial Court of Paris dated March 7, 2024, and August 12, 2024, without any notice being duly served on the Federal Government of Nigeria and Ogun State Government.
“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. The material facts in the transaction between the Ogun State Government and Zhongshan point to another P&ID case in which unscrupulous and questionable individuals falsely present themselves as investors with the sole objective of undercutting and scamming Governments in Africa.”
Arbitration concluded in 2019 with an award of over $60 million against the Federal Government, although Zhongshan had only completed minimal work on the project. Ogun State successfully resisted enforcement of this award in eight jurisdictions, with ongoing appeals in the US and UK.
Recent negotiations for a settlement have collapsed, despite a three-day meeting between Ogun State authorities and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice,
Prince Lateef Fagbemi in London in September 2023. Zhongshan, however had changed its mind about negotiating, which resulted in a disagreement about the entire arbitration debt.
Additionally, it was mentioned that Ogun State has kept up its efforts to reach a fair settlement, with the most recent letter to Zhongshan being sent last week. The statement claims that Ogun State has persisted in looking for a fair resolution, with the most recent letter being written to Zhongshan last week.
Nigerians were also reassured by the Federal Government that it is actively collaborating with Ogun State to challenge the court decisions and defend national assets against false claims.
The seizure of the three aircraft associated with the Nigerian government were seized under the authority of a French court following a protracted legal battle between a sub-national and Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd.
