Barely One week after the seizure of three Presidential aircraft through a French Court order by a Chinese company, Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment Limited, the firm has again confiscated another Nigerian government jet from former Minister of Petroleum under the regime of late General Sani Abacha.
The aircraft which valued $57million is a Bombardier 6000 type BD-700-1A10, was formerly taken from Etete and kept in Canada for months now.
ait.live gathered that the Chinese company which seems to be on a confiscation blitz of Nigerian assets, successfully finalized repossession of a luxury private aircraft owned by the West African country in Canada.
The Chinese investors which has been seeking to confiscate Nigerian assets, completed the necessary paperwork for the transfer of custodianship from Canadian authorities in Montreal.
The seizure came after a Canadian Court ruled in favour of Zhongshang, Fucheng Investment Limited, granting the company permission to seize the aircraft owned by the Nigeria government.
The Nigerian government first seized the aircraft from Etete in 2016 and trapped it in Dubai, however information from Flight tracking websites showed that the plane was then flown suddenly to Canada on May 29, 2020, where Nigeria quickly obtained a Court order for seizure and held it at the main Airport in Montreal.
A Canadian firm, Tibit, sought to claim ownership, but Canadian Court allowed Nigeria to remain in charge of the aircraft.
In 2023, Zhongshang moved to seize the jet, which could accommodate up to 19 people, while pursuing enforcement of its arbitration awards of over $70 million against Nigeria.
It appears that Nigeria has lost all its challenges against the Chinese firm in at least five countries,
Bola Tinubu-led administration and Ogun State have disclosed ongoing efforts to resolve the matter with Zhongshang, although no headway has been recorded since the parties first met in London from September 27-29, 2023.
Editor: Ken Eseni
