By Uche Usim
The Ogun State government has frowned at the recent seizure of three Nigerian jets by French authorities via court ruling, denouncing the action as a blatant violation of international law and diplomatic protocols.
According to a statement signed by Mr Kayode Akinmade, the Special Assistant, Media and Strategy to the Ogun State government, the seizure reeks of ulterior motives as the Nigerian government was not properly served the court pronouncement, just as a lot of information was withheld from the federal government regarding the deals.
The statement read: “On 14 August 2024, the attention of the Ogun State government was drawn to the provisional attachment of three Nigerian government owned aircraft 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”.
Akinmade added that each of the three aircraft 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”, he added.
The SA further said that the case was reminiscent of the P&ID case, where unscrupulous individuals masquerading as foreign investors tried to swindle the country.
Akinmade also explained 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 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 eight different jurisdictions. Currently, there are pending appeals against recognition orders issued in both the US and UK”.
He added that Ogun State also engaged Zhongshan in settlement discussions on reasonable terms.
“The last meeting attended by several officials of Ogun State, including the Governor, Dapo Abiodun and the 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.
“We naturally regret any embarrassment this has caused the Federal Government of Nigeria and re-affirm our commitment to constantly and consistently protect the integrity of the nation and its assets. We have taken all necessary legal steps to ensure that this spurious and baseless order is vacated within the shortest possible time”, the statement added.