The Presidency has responded to reports about a French court’s order to seize three Nigerian Presidential jets, breaking its silence on the issue,Daily Trust reports.
Earlier, the Financial Times and Daily Trust reported that the court ordered the seizure of the aircraft due to a failed deal between the Ogun State government and a Chinese company. The jets targeted for seizure include a Dassault Falcon 7X, a Boeing 737-7N6/BBJ, and an Airbus A330-243, stationed at Paris-Le Bourget and Basel-Mulhouse airports.
In a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, the Presidency accused the Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, of misleading the court.
Onanuga stated that Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice is collaborating with the Ogun State government to overturn the court’s decision.
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“The Presidency is aware of several unsuccessful attempts by Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited to seize offshore assets belonging to the Federal Government of Nigeria through deceptive means.
“The Federal Government is not bound by any contractual obligations to this company. The dispute Zhongshan is attempting to exploit involves the company and the Ogun State Government, not the Federal Government.
“The Federal Government is fully informed of the Ogun State Government’s efforts to reach an amicable resolution on this matter.
“It should be made clear that Zhongshan has no legitimate grounds to demand restitution from the Ogun State Government, given the facts surrounding the 2007 contract between the company and the State Government to manage a free trade zone.
“When the contract with Ogun State was terminated in 2015, the company had only constructed a perimeter fence on the designated land. Despite ongoing efforts by the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Ogun State Government to resolve the issue, Zhongshan obtained two orders from the Judicial Court of Paris on March 7, 2024, and August 12, 2024, without proper notification to the Federal Government of Nigeria or the Ogun State Government.
“This aggressive tactic by the Chinese company is the latest in a series of failed attempts to claim Nigerian government assets in foreign jurisdictions.
“The facts in the transaction between the Ogun State Government and Zhongshan bear similarities to the P&ID case, where dubious entities falsely present themselves as investors with the intent to defraud African governments.
“Clearly, Zhongshan withheld critical information and misled the Judicial Court in Paris, leading to the attachment of Nigeria’s presidential jets, which are currently undergoing routine maintenance in France. These jets, as assets of a sovereign state, are protected by diplomatic immunity, and no foreign court has the jurisdiction to issue an order against them.
“We believe the Chinese company misled the Judicial Court of Paris about the nature and usage of the assets it sought to seize and did not provide full disclosure as required by law.
“This same company has previously attempted to enforce its questionable judgment in the UK and the USA but was unsuccessful.
“We want to assure Nigerians that the Federal Government, in conjunction with the Ogun State Government, is working to immediately nullify this frivolous order in Paris.”
