Aircrafts seizure: Chinese firm rejects FG’s account in Paris Court verdict
Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited dismissed the Nigerian government's account in a court proceeding in Paris, France, following the temporary seizure of the country's presidential planes.Premium Times reports that the rebuttal was announced in a statement on August 15, 2024.
Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the National Security Adviser and Attorney General of the Federation, stated that they had begun the legal process to retrieve three presidential planes that had been temporarily seized by a Paris court order in France.
According to a statement from the Nigerian presidency, Ogun State and Zhongshan signed a contract to manage a free-trade zone in 2007.
The parties filed a dispute in 2015, and arbitration began in 2016.
The arbitration hearing concluded in 2019.
Despite Zhongshan's construction of only a perimeter fence around the free-trade zone, the Arbitral Panel awarded over $60 million USD to a co-defendant, the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN).
The government expressed concern about an attempt by the Chinese company Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd to seize Nigeria's presidential jets and other offshore assets.
The AGF also confirmed that the temporary attachment was made in response to ex parte orders issued by the Judicial Court of Paris on March 7, 2024 and August 12, 2024, respectively, at the request of Messrs. Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, a Chinese company seeking to enforce a Final Award granted in its favor on March 26, 2021, against one of Nigeria's sub-nationals, Ogun State.
The AGF statement reads, "The Offices of the National Security Adviser and the Attorney General of the Federation have already taken both legal and diplomatic steps to ensure the discharge of the inappropriate orders against the aircraft, which are protected by sovereign immunity. While additional steps are being taken to resolve the entire dispute through legal means, the Federal Government's firm position remains that the aircraft in question are sovereign assets used solely for sovereign purposes and thus immune from attachment, as Zhongshan has sought to do."
In response to the development, the company stated that Zhongshan is confident in its position and has simply attempted to protect its rights under international law.
It emphasized that the Independent arbitral tribunal ruled in its favor, and courts in several countries have maintained that the panel's award should be implemented.
"The French court was fully aware of the facts when it made its decision. The Economist Intelligence Unit referred to the Ogun Free Trade Zone as a significant international investment, rather than just a fence.
"Zhongshan has for a long time been ready to enter serious negotiations with the Federal Government of Nigeria to settle this case and still awaits an indication that the government is equally willing," a statement said, according to Premium Times.
The response from the Chinese company and the AGF indicates that
If an out-of-court settlement or amicable resolution is not reached, another round of legal wrangling is on the horizon.
Following legal advice, the Ogun State Government decided to oppose the award's enforcement. This resistance was successful across eight jurisdictions.
Zhongshan was also invited to negotiate a reasonable settlement with Ogun State. The most recent meeting, held in London in September 2023, lasted three days and was attended by several Ogun State officials, including Governor Dapo Abiodun and Attorney General/Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi.
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