Nigerian president Bola Ahmed Tinubu was scheduled to travel on a state visit to France on his new presidential jet on August 19 after ACJ330-200 5N-FGA (msn 1053) was freed from court seizure by a Chinese company entangled in a legal dispute with Nigeria.
ADS-B data shows that the jet was scheduled to depart Abuja for Nice in the afternoon on August 19.
Reuters reports this followed a statement by Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd. on August 16 that it had released the jet as a "gesture of goodwill" to facilitate talks. The Chinese company, which has won a multi-million dollar arbitration award against Nigeria, secured French court orders last week to seize Nigerian assets, including three aircraft belonging to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
"Zhongshan has consistently sought to act reasonably and fairly in the course of a legal dispute with Nigeria, which was not of its making," the company said in a statement. "As a gesture of goodwill, Zhongshan has lifted the seizure of that aircraft immediately. This will allow it to be used for the President's trip."
It added, "Zhongshan remains committed to talks with representatives of the Federal Government of Nigeria, this time serious and substantive on both sides, with a view to reaching a reasonable compromise settlement rapidly."
Nigeria had recently acquired the A330 from AMAC Corporate Jet (AMK, Zurich) to replace the previous presidential jet, a B737-700(BBJ), 5N-FGT (msn 34260), ferried to AMAC in Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg, CH in March to be sold.
Last week, the Paris Judicial Court (Tribunal Judiciaire de Paris) authorised Zhongshan to seize both aircraft plus a Falcon 7X, 5N-FGU (msn 090), parked at Paris Le Bourget, as security for its claim of EUR74.4 million euros (USD81,724,193) related to an award granted to the Chinese firm by an ad hoc arbitral tribunal in London on March 26, 2021.
The dispute goes back to Nigeria having expropriated land from Zhongshan without compensation, resulting in international arbitration. In 2021, an ad hoc London tribunal ruled in Zhongshan's favour, awarding USD55.6 million in compensation, along with additional amounts for moral damages, interest, legal costs, and other arbitration expenses, totalling about USD69 million. Zhongshan had originally sought USD1.07 billion. The company has since pursued enforcement of the award across multiple jurisdictions, including the UK, US, Canada, Belgium, France, and the British Virgin Islands.
