16 August 2024 (TDI): A long-running dispute between the Nigerian government and a Chinese firm led to the acquisition of three Nigerian planes by a French court.
A 2007 agreement between Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment and Ogun State, in southwest Nigeria, to establish a free-trade zone with the goal of attracting investors and building a sizable industrial park, is the source of the dispute.
Between 2015 and 2016, the contract was terminated. Zhongshan alleged that a “campaign of illegal acts” was used to force it out of the agreement, as reported by the Financial Times.
Nigerian officials have strongly criticized the planes’ detention and implied Zhongshan’s only intention was to “undercut and scam” an African country.
Zhongshan received orders from the Paris Judicial Court to ground three presidential Nigerian planes in all.
According to the government of Nigeria, the planes were getting “routine maintenance” at the time.
Zhongshan is reportedly launching a larger effort to take Nigeria’s abroad assets, according to a statement released by presidential office spokeswoman Bayo Onanuga.
In an extensive history of unsuccessful attempts to seize assets controlled by the Nigerian government abroad, the Chinese company’s arm-twisting strategy is the most recent, he claimed.
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The president of the UK Supreme Court oversaw the arbitration panel that decided to compensate the Chinese corporation with $74.5 million (£57.8 million) in March 2021. This amount is allegedly what Ogun State refused to pay.
Zhongshan’s attempt to seize Nigeria’s overseas assets was approved by the US Court of Appeals last Friday. Nigeria’s claim of “sovereign immunity” was likewise dismissed by the court.
Nigeria charged Zhongshan on Thursday of lying to US, UK, and French courts on certain facts.
According to Mr. Onanuga, Zhongshan had only built a perimeter fence on the property designated for the free-trade zone when the Ogun State contract was canceled.
An area where items freely enter and exit a country with little to no taxes or fees is known as a free-trade zone.
Other Nigerian zones of this type exist, such as the one in Lagos where the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, constructed by the wealthiest person in Africa, Aliko Dangote, recently opened.
Zhongshan claimed to the media in Nigeria that the Ogun Free Trade Zone was much more than just a fence, and that the Economist Intelligence Unit had highlighted it as a major foreign investment.
To reassure its citizens, the Nigerian government stated that it was attempting to carry out the “frivolous order” issued by the French court.
As stated in the statement, “The Nigerian government would never stop working to defend our national assets against predators and shylocks who pose as investors.”
Zhongshan was recently blamed of a “series of ill-advised attempts” to seize assets in Nigeria by the regional government of Ogun State, which issued a similar statement.
