Chinese company frees Nigerian presidential jet seized over US$60 million legal dispute

By Reuters

LAGOS: A Chinese firm at the heart of a legal dispute with Nigeria has released a government-owned jet seized on its behalf by a French court as a “gesture of goodwill” to allow for talks, the company said on Friday.

Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd. said in a statement that it had lifted the seizure of the Nigerian presidential Airbus A330 to show it has “consistently sought to act reasonably and fairly in the course of a legal dispute” that was not of its making.

The dispute stems from a 2007 contract between Zhongshan and Nigeria’s southwestern Ogun state to develop a free trade zone, which was terminated in 2015 because the company had – according to the Nigerian government – done no more than erect a perimeter fence on the land earmarked for the free trade zone.

“Zhongshan remains committed to talks with representatives of the Federal Government of Nigeria, this time serious and substantive on both sides, with a view to reaching a reasonable compromise settlement rapidly,” the company said in statement.

Zhongshan obtained two orders from a French court in March and August to seize Nigerian assets following an arbitration award of more than $60 million.

Nigerian-owned buildings in the British city of Liverpool were recently seized by a UK court in relation to the same dispute, Nigerian newspaper Premium Times reported, external.

Last Friday, the United States Court of Appeals ruled that Zhongshan could proceed with its efforts to confiscate Nigeria’s assets abroad. The court also rejected Nigeria’s defence of “sovereign immunity”.

The Nigerian government accused Zhongshan of mounting a campaign to seize its assets overseas, including presidential jets undergoing maintenance in France, due to the dispute.

In a statement by spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, Nigeria’s presidential office said, “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 Nigerian authorities sought to assure the country that it was working to discharge the French court’s “frivolous order”.

“Nigerian government will always work to protect our national assets from predators and shylocks who masquerade as investors,” the statement said.