By Amah
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Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment Ltd, the Chinese firm, which is embroiled in a legal dispute with Nigeria, has again seized a luxury jet owned by the Nigerian government in Canada.
Zhongshang had won a $75 million claim over the termination of a contractual agreement it had with the Ogun State government.
The company is determined to keep seizing Nigerian assets worldwide until it is fully paid the arbitration awards.
It has recently secured a French court order authorising the confiscation of three presidential jets, belonging to Nigeria although it later released one to enable President Bola Tinubu to travel to France for a meeting with Emmanuel Macron, the French president.
Following the court judgment in favour of Zhongshang the Bombardier BD-700-1A10 aircraft, valued at $57 million, was repossessed by Canadian authorities in Montreal.
Sources say the change of custodian paperwork was finalised recently, months after a Canadian court granted orders for Zhongshang to seize the jet.
A source familiar with the matter said: “The court granted orders for Zhongshang to seize the plane earlier this year, but the change of custody from Nigeria to Zhongshang was only recently concluded.
“Zhongshang will not stop seizing Nigeria’s assets worldwide until the last cent of the arbitration awards has been paid.”
The luxury jet was originally purchased by fugitive Dan Etete, who netted over $350 million from the alleged corrupt sale of the OPL 245 oil field in 2010.
Nigeria seized the aircraft from Etete in 2016 and held it in Dubai before it was flown to Canada in 2020, where Nigeria quickly obtained a court order for seizure and held it at the main airport in Montreal.
Zhongshang moved to seize the jet in 2023, as part of its efforts to enforce arbitration awards of over $70 million against Nigeria.
Judge David Collier of the Superior Court of Quebec ruled in favour of Zhongshang, rejecting Nigeria’s arguments and sovereign immunity claim, as the recent arbitration in the UK has held.
Nigeria still insists that it had not done anything wrong despite losing all legal challenges against Zhongshang in at least five countries.
