The Judicial Court of Paris, in two orders dated March 7 and August 2, ordered the seizure of three president jets.
The presidential jets are a Dassault Falcon 7X at Le Bourget airport in Paris; a Boeing 737, and an Airbus 330 at Basel-Mulhouse airport in Switzerland.
The Airbus 330 was newly purchased, while the other two were put up for sale.
The court ordered that “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.”
Also, “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.”
Presidential jets’ seizure timeline of events
*In 2007, Ogun State and a Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd, entered an export processing zone management contract.
*On June 29, 2010, Zhuhai Zhongfu Industrial Group Co Ltd, the parent company of Zhongshan, and the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone, OGFTZ, entered into a framework agreement on the establishment and management of Fucheng Industrial Park within the zone.
- In 2011, the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority registered Zhongfu International Investment (NIG) FZE, a subsidiary of Zhongshan, as a free trade zone enterprise within the OGFZ.
*Ogun State government then appointed Zhongfu as the interim manager/administrator of the zone.
*In July 2016, Zhongfu accused Ogun State government of revoking the contract, and launched an arbitration against Nigeria, citing the bilateral investment treaty between China and Nigeria.
*On March 26, 2021, a tribunal issued an award of $55,675,000, interest of $9.4 million, and costs of £2,864,445 payable by Nigeria to Zhongshan.
*But the ruling had not been honoured.
*Meanwhile the Federal Government (a co-defendant in the case) has been appealing to Ogun State to find a solution to the impasse.
*The Chinese company has since been trying to seize Nigerian-owned assets in foreign jurisdictions.
*Then the Judicial Court of Paris gave two seizure orders dated 7 March 2024 and 12 August 2024, in respect of the three presidential jets.
*Zhongshan has taken similar actions in the United Kingdom, UK, with buildings owned by the Nigerian government in Liverpool.
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