Nigeria is facing another international embarrassment as three of its presidential jets have been seized in Switzerland by a Chinese firm, according to Premium Times.
The seizures were ordered by a French court, following a protracted legal dispute between the Ogun State government and Zhongshan, a Chinese company.
Two of the seized jets, part of Nigeria’s presidential air fleet, had been listed for sale, while the third, an Airbus A330, was recently purchased by the Nigerian government but had yet to be delivered. The seized aircraft are a Dassault Falcon 7X at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, a Boeing 737, and the newly acquired Airbus A330 at Basel-Mulhouse Airport in Switzerland.
The court-ordered seizure stems from a 2016 decision by the Ogun State government to revoke Zhongshan’s contract to manage an export processing zone in the state. The dispute escalated to an international arbitration case, leading to an arbitral tribunal chaired by the former UK Supreme Court President awarding Zhongshan $74.5 million in compensation.
Despite this ruling, Ogun State has not paid the compensation. As a result, Zhongshan successfully sought a court order to seize the jets as security for the unpaid amount. According to the court’s order, no movement, sale, or purchase of the jets can occur until the compensation is settled.
The Nigerian government under President Bola Tinubu recently spent over $100 million on one of the seized aircraft, an Airbus A330. Bailiffs have already served legal papers on the seized jets, but the government has yet to issue a public statement.
This marks the second recent seizure of Nigerian assets linked to the Zhongshan dispute. Properties owned by Nigeria in Liverpool, England, were also seized by a UK court. The long-standing dispute dates back to 2010 when Zhongshan and Ogun State entered into a contract for the management of Fucheng Industrial Park within the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone (OGFTZ). Zhongshan’s contract was later revoked in 2016, leading to the arbitration case and subsequent legal battles.
As negotiations to resolve the conflict have failed, Zhongshan has taken legal action to recover its compensation, resulting in the current seizures. The seized jets will remain grounded until the $74.5 million award is honored, further straining Nigeria’s international standing.
