Chinese Firm Releases One of Nigeria’s Seized Presidential Jets

Chinese Firm Releases One of Nigeria’s Seized Presidential Jets

Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, a Chinese firm, has released one of Nigeria’s presidential jets that it had previously seized. The release comes amid ongoing legal disputes between the company and the Nigerian government.

Zhongshan had secured a court order to confiscate three Nigerian presidential jets until the company received $74.5 million awarded to it in a legal judgment against Nigeria. However, on Friday, a spokesperson for the company announced that one of the aircraft had been released to allow President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to attend a scheduled meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron next week.

The spokesperson told *Premium Times*: “Zhongshan has consistently sought to act reasonably and fairly in the course of a legal dispute with Nigeria, which was not of its making. The company has been informed that an Airbus A330, currently detained in France due to a French court order obtained by Zhongshan, is needed for the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to travel to a meeting with President Macron of France early next week. As a gesture of goodwill, Zhongshan has lifted the seizure of that aircraft immediately. This will allow it to be used for the President’s trip.”

The spokesperson further emphasized the company’s willingness to engage in serious and substantive talks with Nigerian government representatives to reach a swift and reasonable settlement.

In response to the situation, Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, had earlier addressed the matter, stating that the Nigerian federal government, in collaboration with the Ogun State government, is working to overturn what they described as a “fr incident.”

Onanuga explained, “The Presidency is aware of the various failed attempts by a Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, to take over offshore assets of the Federal Government of Nigeria through subterfuge. 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.”

He added that the Ogun State Government is actively seeking an amicable resolution to the matter, and asserted that Zhongshan’s actions have no solid legal foundation. He highlighted that the contract in question, related to the management of a free-trade zone, was revoked in 2015, and that Zhongshan had made minimal progress on the project, having only erected a perimeterPrimary care is essential.

Onanuga also raised concerns about the legal process in Paris, stating that the Chinese company obtained two orders from the Judicial Court of Paris without properly notifying the Nigerian and Ogun State governments. He criticized these actions as part of a broader pattern of attempts to defraud African governments by unscrupulous entities.

“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,” Onanuga said.

He assured Nigerians that the government is working diligently to overturn the court order in Paris and vowed to protect the nation’s assets from what he described as “predators and shylocks masquerading as investors.”