By Ezekiel David
The Nigerian Presidency has publicly accused Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd., a Chinese company, of employing underhanded tactics to seize Nigerian assets abroad.
The dispute stems from a 2007 contract between Zhongshan and the Ogun State government for the management of a free trade zone. The contract was revoked in 2015, leading to a protracted legal battle.
“The case in which Zhongshan is trying to use every unorthodox means to strip our offshore assets is between the company and the Ogun State government,” stated Mr Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
According to Onanuga, Zhongshan deceived the Paris Judicial Court to obtain a warrant for the seizure of the Nigerian presidential airplanes that were in France for routine maintenance. He highlights that the court order is void since the jets are sovereign assets covered by diplomatic immunity.
“We are convinced the Chinese company misled the Judicial Court of Paris regarding the use and nature of the assets it seeks to attach and did not fully disclose to the court as required by law,” Onanuga asserted.
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The heart of the dispute lies in a 2019 arbitration ruling that awarded over $60 million to Zhongshan, despite the company reportedly only constructing a perimeter fence during its tenure managing the free trade zone.
Onanuga claims that Zhongshan obtained two ex-parte orders from the Paris court on March 7 and August 12, 2023, without proper notification to either the Nigerian federal government or the Ogun State government.
This latest attempt to seize assets follows similar unsuccessful endeavours by Zhongshan in both the UK and USA, according to Onanuga. He decries the actions of the Chinese firm, alleging a pattern of “unscrupulous” behaviour targeting African governments.
“Zhongshan appeared to have sold the judgment they got to a venture capitalist seeking to make money by embarrassing the Federal Government and President Bola Tinubu,” Onanuga stated.
Despite the ongoing legal wrangling, both the federal government and the Ogun State government maintain they are open to an amicable resolution.
As recently as September 2023, talks between Zhongshan and Ogun State were held in London. The negotiations, however, apparently came to an abrupt end when Zhongshan abandoned his earlier willingness to entertain a compromise in favour of demanding full payment of the contested arbitration award.
“Ogun has not given up on a reasonable settlement option, with the most recent letter sent to Zhongshan last week,” Onanuga affirmed.
(Source: Vanguard)