Abuja, Nigeria – Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, the Chinese company that recently secured a court injunction to ground three Nigerian presidential jets in Europe, is now pursuing other Nigerian assets in eight countries, The PUNCH has learned.
The company has initiated legal proceedings in jurisdictions including the United Kingdom, United States, Belgium, Canada, France, Singapore, and the British Virgin Islands, according to documents obtained by our correspondent on Thursday.
The Federal Government, meanwhile, has vowed to protect its foreign assets from “predators.”
The controversy began when reports surfaced that the Chinese firm had obtained a judgment to ground three Nigerian presidential jets. In 2001, China and Nigeria signed a bilateral investment treaty to promote commercial investment between the two countries. Subsequently, in 2007, Ogun State entered a joint venture agreement with a Chinese firm to create the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone Company. This company was tasked with developing an industrial park within the free-trade zone.
However, the agreement was terminated in 2016, leading Zhongshan to file lawsuits in Nigeria. Although these legal proceedings were discontinued in 2018, a French court recently authorized the seizure of three presidential jets, including a Dassault Falcon 7X, a Boeing 737, and an Airbus 330.
The French court’s order prohibits Nigeria from moving or selling these jets until Ogun State pays $74.5 million in compensation to Zhongshan, a sum the state has yet to settle.
Documents reveal that Zhongshan had attempted to seize other Nigerian assets abroad, including a luxury private jet once owned by former petroleum minister Dan Etete, which the Federal Government had previously tracked down and grounded in Canada.
The dispute traces back to the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone, a project initiated in 2007 between Ogun State and China Guangdong Xinguang China-Africa Investment Limited. After terminating the joint venture in 2012, Ogun State appointed Zhongshan as the interim manager of the zone, leading to a protracted legal battle.
By August 2024, court proceedings related to the dispute were ongoing in eight different jurisdictions, with Zhongshan reportedly tracking the location of additional Nigerian assets abroad.
In response, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), stated that legal and diplomatic efforts are underway to recover the three seized presidential jets. The Presidency also condemned Zhongshan’s attempts to strip Nigeria of its assets, describing the company’s actions as fraudulent and accusing it of misleading the French court.
Ogun State, in a separate statement, criticized the judicial process that led to the attachment of the jets, accusing Zhongshan of deliberately concealing the litigation from Nigerian authorities. The state government also emphasized that the jets in question are sovereign assets and are therefore immune from attachment under international law.
This latest development follows a series of unsuccessful attempts by Zhongshan to seize Nigerian assets in foreign jurisdictions. The Ogun State Government remains committed to resisting the enforcement of the arbitral award, viewing it as an unjust decision that would harm the state’s finances.