By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Three Nigerian presidential jets, including a newly purchased Airbus, have reportedly been seized by a French court amid legal dispute.
Three aircraft associated with the Nigerian government have been seized under the authority of a French court following a protracted legal battle between a sub-national and Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd, a Chinese company, according to a Premium Times report.
The seizure includes a newly acquired Airbus A330 valued at over $100 million.
The aircraft in question—a Dassault Falcon 7X, a Boeing 737, and an Airbus A330—had either been part of the Nigerian presidential fleet or were recently purchased by the government.
The report says the Dassault Falcon 7X was undergoing maintenance at Paris-Le Bourget airport, while the Boeing 737 and Airbus A330 were stationed at Basel-Mulhouse International Airport for similar reasons.
Efforts to get a reaction from the Presidency until a presidential media aide advised that the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, was in the best position to speak on the incident.
Keyamo’s media aide Tunde Moshood refused to confirm or deny the report but also advised that the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, would be in a better position to speak on the matter.
Attempts to reach Fagbemi have been futile as at press time but a spokesperson asked for time to make findings and promised to revert once he had more information.
According to the report, the seizure of the presidential jets is a result of an application by Zhongshan, a Chinese company whose export processing zone management contract was revoked by the Ogun State government in 2016.
Despite an arbitral tribunal, chaired by a former President of the UK Supreme Court, ruling in favour of Zhongshan and awarding them €74,459,221 in compensation, the decision has yet to be honoured.
As a result, Zhongshan sought enforcement of the arbitral award through the French legal system. The enforcement judge at the Paris Judicial Court granted the company authority to seize the aircraft, stating in the court order, “This protective seizure will take place to secure and preserve the claim arising from the arbitration award dated 26 March 2021, made by an ad hoc arbitral tribunal.”
The court further ordered that the aircraft be secured in such a way as to prevent their movement, saying, “The aircraft… will be positioned so that the cockpit faces a wall or building or in any other way that prevents it from taking off again autonomously.”
The report further adds that Zhongshan has taken similar actions in the United Kingdom, with buildings owned by the Nigerian government in Liverpool seized under the orders of a UK court in relation to the same unresolved dispute.