Chinese Firm Seizes Nigeria’s $57million Jet in Canada as Court Rejects Immunity Claim

Chinese Firm Seizes Nigerian Government’s $57 Million Luxury Jet in Canada.

 

In a significant legal setback for Nigeria, Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment Ltd, a Chinese firm, has successfully seized a luxury jet owned by the Nigerian government in Canada.

 

The Bombardier 6000 type BD-700-1A10 aircraft, valued at $57 million, was repossessed by Canadian authorities in Montreal following a court ruling in favor of Zhongshang.

 

 

Sources reveal that the paperwork for the change of custody was finalized recently, months after a Canadian court granted Zhongshang the right to seize the jet.

 

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“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,” a source familiar with the matter disclosed.

 

Zhongshang has vowed to continue its aggressive strategy of seizing Nigerian assets worldwide until the full arbitration awards, totaling over $70 million, are paid.

 

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“Zhongshang will not stop seizing Nigeria’s assets worldwide until the last cent of the arbitration awards has been paid,” the source added.

 

The luxury jet in question was originally purchased by Dan Etete, a former Nigerian oil minister who reportedly gained over $350 million from the controversial sale of the OPL 245 oil field in 2010. The Nigerian government seized the aircraft from Etete in 2016 and held it in Dubai before relocating it to Canada in 2020, where it was placed under custody at Montreal’s main airport.

 

In 2023, Zhongshang moved to enforce the arbitration awards by seizing the jet. Judge David Collier of the Superior Court of Quebec ruled in favor of Zhongshang, dismissing Nigeria’s sovereign immunity claims, in line with a recent arbitration ruling in the UK.

 

This development is part of a broader trend, as Zhongshang has successfully seized Nigerian assets in multiple countries, including the UK, France, and Canada. Despite losing legal challenges in at least five countries, Nigeria continues to assert that it has committed no wrongdoing in the disputes, which originate from a mismanaged free trade zone contract in Ogun State.