By Cross Udo and Kenny Folowosele, Abuja
The Federal Government and one of its sub-nationals, Ogun State, are neck deep in moves to rescue three presidential jets from a Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co following a court ruling in France.
This came as the Ogun State Government yesterday faulted the judicial process that led to the provisional attachment of three Federal Government-owned aircraft in France by the Judicial Court of Paris on 7th March and 2nd August 2024.
A Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd, had sought several orders from the court over an aborted underlying contract between the company and the Ogun State Government, which was initiated in 2007.
Following the move by the company to confiscate the three aircraft, the Presidency said the Chinese firm was attempting to secretly take over Nigeria’s offshore assets using unorthodox means.
It, however, said it has commenced both diplomatic and legal steps to recover the three presidential aircraft seized in France.
The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), and the Minister of Justice are currently weighing both diplomatic and legal means.
A statement by the AGF yesterday in Abuja maintained that the debt which led to the seizure of the presidential aircraft was incurred by the Ogun State Government in a contractual agreement with a Chinese company.
The statement read, “On August 14, 2024, the Federal Government of Nigeria became aware of the interim attachment of three presidential aircraft undergoing routine maintenance in France.
“The said temporary attachment was made under ex-parte orders issued by the Judicial Court of Paris dated 7 March 2024 and 12 August 2024 respectively.
“The orders were issued at the instance of Messrs. Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, a Chinese company seeking to enforce a Final Award granted in its favour on 26 March 2021, against one of Nigeria’s sub-nationals, Ogun State.
“It is to be noted that the arbitral award arose from an arbitration proceeding which commenced in 2018 as a fallout of a contractual dispute between the Chinese company and Ogun State Government over the operation and management of Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone.
“We wish to clarify that, though the dispute originated from engagements of Ogun State Government, however, the consequential enforcement actions are being directed against the Federal Government and its assets in line with extant principles of international law which holds that the actions of a subnational or local entity are attributable to the State or country itself.
“The Offices of the National Security Adviser and the Attorney-General of the Federation, have already set in motion both legal and diplomatic steps to ensure the discharge of the inappropriate orders against the aircraft, which are covered by sovereign immunity.
“While further actions are being put in place to resolve the entire dispute through available legal means, the firm position of the Federal Government remains that the aircraft in question are sovereign assets used solely for sovereign purposes and are therefore immune from attachment as Zhongshan has sought to do.”
*Chinese company using tactic to strip Nigeria’s offshore assets, says presidency
Earlier, the Presidency in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, distanced itself from the company, stating that the Federal government was not under any contractual obligation with the firm.
Onanuga, in the statement, said, “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.
“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.
“When the contract with Ogun State was revoked in 2015, the company had only erected a perimeter fence on the land earmarked for a free trade zone.
“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.
“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.
“Like the P&ID case, foreign companies are trying to defraud Nigeria with the collaboration of some bureaucrats. 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.
“We want to assure Nigerians that the Federal Government is working with the Ogun State Government to discharge this frivolous order in Paris immediately. Nigerian Government will always work to protect our national assets from predators and shylocks who masquerade as investors.”
*Ogun reacts
Meanwhile, the Ogun State Government in a statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, described the latest development as the new antics by the Chinese company to appropriate Nigerian assets in foreign jurisdictions, as past efforts had continually failed.
The statement described the whole legal process as nothing but a total charade with fraudulent notions, adding that the company deliberately concealed the litigation from both the Nigerian government and Ogun State, as well as their legal counsels before hurriedly securing orders of seizure.
It added that the company must have misled the Judicial Court of Paris as to the use and nature of the assets it sought to attach and not made full disclosure to the court as required by law.
According to the statement, Ogun State, together with the Federal Government, had already taken immediate action to ensure that those provisional attachments were lifted quickly, even as it accused the company of reneging on the earlier discussion for an amicable resolution of the case.
It likened the case to that of P&ID, describing it as a very unfortunate case of unscrupulous individuals masquerading as foreign investors with the sole aim of defrauding Ogun State and Nigeria at large.
The statement said, “On 14 August 2024, the attention of the Ogun State Government was drawn to the provisional attachment of three Nigerian government-owned aircraft in France by the Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd. (Zhongshan).
“Ogun State also learned of two orders of the Judicial Court of Paris dated 7 March 2024 and 12 August 2024 respectively, both obtained by Zhongshan without notice being duly given to the Federal Government or Nigeria, Ogun State, or their legal counsel.
“This is the latest in a series of ill-advised attempts by Zhongshan to attach Nigerian-owned assets in foreign jurisdictions, none of which have to date led to the recovery of any sums from Nigeria.
“Each of the three aircraft is used solely for sovereign purposes and as such immune from attachment under international and French laws. In obtaining the provisional attachments, Zhongshan deliberately withheld information from the Federal Government of Nigeria, Ogun State, and their legal counsel.
“Just like the P&ID case, this is another unfortunate case of unscrupulous individuals masquerading as foreign investors with the sole aim of defrauding Ogun State and Nigeria.
“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 $60m against the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) which was a co-Defendant, when all Zhongshan had done was to build a perimeter fence around the free-trade zone. Needless to say, this was a bad/unfair decision.
“The present State Administration could not in all good conscience allow such an unconscionable 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,” the statement read.
