Paris, France – A French court has ordered the seizure of three Nigerian government jets in a dispute with a Chinese company, Zhongfu, over an allegedly breached contract. The aircraft, a Dassault Falcon 7X, a Boeing 737, and an Airbus A330, are currently grounded at Paris-Le Bourget and Basel-Mulhouse airports.
Zhongfu, a subsidiary of Chinese investment firm Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment, entered into a partnership with the Ogun State government in 2013 to develop a free trade zone. The Chinese company claimed that the Nigerian government reneged on the deal three years later, forcing it out of the project.
Following a 2018 arbitration, a London tribunal awarded Zhongfu $70 million in damages, a figure that has since ballooned to about $81 million with interest. Nigeria has thus far refused to pay.
To recover the debt, Zhongfu secured a court order to seize two Nigerian properties in Liverpool, UK, in June. The latest action targeting the jets represents an escalation of the dispute.
The Nigerian government has vehemently denied the allegations, accusing Zhongfu of withholding information and misleading the French court. Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga insisted the jets are protected by diplomatic immunity and cannot be seized.
The case has drawn parallels with the P&ID scandal, where Nigeria was embroiled in a long-running legal battle with an Irish company over a fraudulent contract.
![South African police rounded up Libyan nationals on suspicion of receiving training at a secret military camp in the north of the country [X/@SAPoliceService]](https://theafricadailypost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GTaVt8cWgAAvhfZ-150x150.jpeg)
