A Chinese firm, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited, has launched a campaign to seize Nigerian assets in eight different countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. The company is attempting to recover a $74.5 million arbitration award against the Nigerian government, following a dispute over the management of the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone (OGFTZ). This situation has drawn global attention as Nigeria seeks to protect its foreign assets from what it calls “predators.”
The conflict traces back to 2007 when the Ogun State government entered a joint venture with China Guangdong Xinguang International Investment Co. Limited (CAI) to establish the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone. The aim of the project was to promote economic collaboration between Nigeria and China by creating an industrial hub in Igbesa, Ogun State, covering 2,000 hectares of land.
By 2010, Zhongshan Fucheng, through its parent company, was contracted to develop and manage Fucheng Industrial Park within the free trade zone. This agreement aimed to develop industrial facilities and factories, fostering business opportunities and foreign investments in Ogun State. For several years, both parties worked on infrastructure development, which included building roads, utilities, and services such as hospitals, hotels, supermarkets, and banks.
However, by 2016, tensions between Ogun State and Zhongshan escalated. Ogun State terminated its agreements with Zhongshan, claiming that another Chinese company was the rightful party in the joint venture and that Zhongshan had defrauded the state. This decision led to a series of legal challenges by Zhongshan, both in Nigerian courts and in various international courts.
In 2021, an independent arbitral tribunal chaired by a former president of the UK Supreme Court ruled in favor of Zhongshan. The tribunal awarded the Chinese firm $74.5 million in compensation, which Ogun State has yet to pay. The firm has since sought to enforce the ruling by targeting Nigerian assets abroad.
In a turn of events, a French court recently authorized the temporary seizure of three presidential jets belonging to Nigeria. Among these aircraft are a Dassault Falcon 7X and a Boeing 737, both part of Nigeria’s presidential air fleet and previously listed for sale. The third aircraft, an Airbus A330, was purchased by Nigeria but had not yet been delivered. The court order prohibited Nigeria from moving or selling these jets until the $74.5 million owed to Zhongshan was paid.
Documents obtained in the case revealed that Zhongshan is also targeting other Nigerian assets across various countries, including Belgium, Canada, France, Singapore, and the British Virgin Islands. The firm’s strategy involves pursuing court orders in multiple jurisdictions to seize Nigerian government assets abroad until its financial demands are met.
Reacting to this, Nigeria’s federal government has vowed to resist the attempts by Zhongshan to seize its assets. The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has declared that both legal and diplomatic actions are being initiated to protect Nigerian assets overseas. He stressed that the jets are sovereign assets, covered by diplomatic immunity, and cannot be seized.
In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Communication and Publicity, Kamarudeen Ogundele, the government described the seizure of the jets as an “inappropriate action” and vowed to recover the assets. “While further actions are being put in place to resolve the entire dispute through available legal means, the firm position of the Federal Government remains that the aircraft in question are sovereign assets used solely for sovereign purposes and are therefore immune from attachment as Zhongshan has sought to do.”
The federal government has also accused Zhongshan of engaging in fraudulent attempts to strip Nigeria of its assets by misleading foreign courts about the use and nature of the seized jets. The presidency argued that the assets are protected under international law and that Zhongshan failed to fully disclose relevant information to the Paris court.
Ogun State has also distanced itself from the ongoing legal battle, describing Zhongshan’s actions as fraudulent. In a statement released by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, the state government criticized the legal process that led to the seizure of the jets, calling it a “charade.”
The Ogun State government claimed that the Chinese firm deliberately withheld information from both the Nigerian and Ogun State governments, as well as their legal representatives, in order to secure the orders for the aircraft’s seizure. “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,” the statement said.
The Ogun State government further pointed out that the original contract with Zhongshan was executed in 2007, long before the current administration took office in 2019. It emphasized that the state’s current leadership is committed to contesting the arbitral tribunal’s decision and ensuring that no public funds are lost as a result of this dispute.
