By Chibuike Nwabuko
ABUJA FCT – Ogun state government has declared her stand on the Paris court’s seizure order of three presidential Jets belonging to the federal government of Nigeria over business disagreement between her (Ogun state) and Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd. (“Zhongshan”),
Reacting to the court order in a statement released on its official X account on Thursday, the state government said both the State and federal governments of Nigeria, have taken swift action to ensure that these provisional attachments are lifted without delay, adding that like the P&ID case, this is another unfortunate case of unscrupulous individuals masquerading as foreign investors with the sole aim of defrauding Ogun State and Nigeria.
The statement declaring the state government’s stand reads in full:
On 14 August 2024, the attention of the @OGSG_Official was drawn to the provisional attachment of three Nigerian government owned aircrafts in France by the Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd. (“Zhongshan”).
Ogun State also learned of two orders of the Judicial Court of Paris dated 7 March 2024 and 12 August 2024 respectively, both obtained by Zhongshan without notice being duly given to the Federal Government or Nigeria, Ogun State or their legal counsel. This is the latest in a series of ill-advised attempts by Zhongshan to attach Nigerian-owned assets in foreign jurisdictions, none of which have to date led to the recovery of any sums from Nigeria.
Each of the three aircrafts is used solely for sovereign purposes and as such are immune from attachment under international and French law. In obtaining the provisional attachments, Zhongshan deliberately withheld information from the Federal Government of Nigeria, Ogun State and their legal counsel.
Shockingly, it also appears to have misled the Judicial Court of Paris as to the use and nature of the assets it seeks to attach and not made full disclosure to the court as required by law.
Ogun State in conjunction with the Federal Government of Nigeria, has taken swift action to ensure that these provisional attachments are lifted without delay.
Just like the P&ID case, this is another unfortunate case of unscrupulous individuals masquerading as foreign investors with the sole aim of defrauding Ogun State and Nigeria.
It should be recalled that the underlying contract between Ogun State and Zhongshan was executed in 2007, 12 years before the present administration, for the management of a free-trade zone. The parties entered into a dispute in 2015 with arbitration commencing in 2016.
By 2019, when the current State Administration took office, the hearing at the arbitration had been all but concluded. The Arbitral Panel awarded over 60 million USD against the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) which was a co-Defendant, when all Zhongshan had done was to build a perimeter fence around the free-trade zone. Needless to say this was a bad/unfair decision.
The present State Administration could not in all good conscience allow such an unconscionable and baseless decision, which would dissipate the commonwealth of the good people of Ogun State, to stand.
Accordingly, and based on erudite legal advice, this Administration resolved to resist the enforcement of the award. The resistance was successful in 8 different jurisdictions. Currently, there are pending appeals against recognition orders issued in both the US and UK.
On the further advice of counsel, Ogun State also engaged Zhongshan in settlement discussions on reasonable terms. The last meeting attended by several officials of Ogun State, including His Excellency Prince Dapo Abiodun – the Governor of Ogun State, and the Honourable Attorney General/Minister of Justice lasted for three days, in September 2023 in London.
Zhongshan’s initial reasonable readiness to consider Ogun State’s offer, was surprisingly reversed by the second day, with an insistence on the payment of the full debt. This led to a breakdown of the mediation, with parties agreeing to meet again in the first quarter of this year.
Since then, Zhongshan has in bad faith been evasive and instead embarked on a series of enforcement proceedings which the legal team appointed by the FGN and Ogun State have successfully opposed. In cases similar to the present one where Zhongshan obtained an ex-parte order, Ogun State has successfully set aside the orders.
Precise Post recalls that following the paris court seizure order, Human right activist, Comrade Shehu Sani today (Thursday) urged Nigerian lawyers drafting contracts papers or MOUs to apply caution while doing that because foreign multinational companies have perfected the art of coming to our country to sign business deals and when there are issues, they sue us in European courts.
