•Governor Dapo Abiodun
The Ogun State Government, today, faulted the process that led to the provisional attachment of three Nigerian-owned aircraft in France by the Judicial Court of Paris.
In a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, the Ogun State Government described the latest development as the new antics by a Chinese company to appropriate Nigerian assets in foreign jurisdictions, as past efforts had continually failed.
The Chinese company, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd, sought orders from the court over an aborted contract between the company and Ogun State Government, which was initiated in 2007.
The state government described the whole legal process as nothing but a total charade with fraudulent notion, adding that the company deliberately concealed the litigation from both the Nigerian government and Ogun State, as well as their lawyer before hurriedly securing orders of seizure.
It added that the company must have misled the Judicial Court of Paris as to the use and nature of the assets it sought to attach and not made full disclosure to the court as required by law.
According to the statement, Ogun State, together with the federal government, had already taken immediate action to ensure that those provisional attachments are lifted quickly, even as it accused the company of reneging on the earlier discussion for an amicable resolution of the case.
It likened the case to that of P&ID, describing it as a very unfortunate case of unscrupulous individuals masquerading as foreign investors with the sole aim of defrauding Ogun State and Nigeria at large.
“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.
“Each of the three aircraft is used solely for sovereign purposes and as such are immune from attachment under international and French laws. In obtaining the provisional attachments, Zhongshan deliberately withheld information from the Federal Government of Nigeria, Ogun State and their legal counsel.
“Just like the P&ID case, this is another unfortunate case of unscrupulous individuals masquerading as foreign investors with the sole aim of defrauding Ogun State and Nigeria,” the statement read.
