Three aircraft linked to the Nigerian government have been seized by a French court following a prolonged legal dispute between a sub-national entity and Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd, a Chinese firm, according to a Premium Times report.
The seized aircraft include a newly acquired Airbus A330, valued at over $100 million, as well as a Dassault Falcon 7X and a Boeing 737. These planes were either part of the Nigerian presidential fleet or had been recently purchased by the government.
The report details that 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.
The seizure stems from an application by Zhongshan, a Chinese company whose export processing zone management contract was revoked by the Ogun State government in 2016.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 favor of Zhongshan and awarding €74,459,221 in compensation, the ruling remains unpaid.
Zhongshan sought to enforce the arbitral award through the French legal system. The enforcement judge at the Paris Judicial Court authorized the seizure of the aircraft, stating, “This protective seizure will occur 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 mandated that the aircraft be secured to prevent their movement, instructing that, “The aircraft… will be positioned so that the cockpit faces a wall or building, or in any manner that prevents it from taking off autonomously.”
The report also notes that Zhongshan has pursued similar actions in the United Kingdom, where buildings owned by the Nigerian government in Liverpool have been seized under a UK court order related to the same unresolved dispute.
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