LAGOS, Aug 16 – A Chinese company at the center of a legal conflict with Nigeria has released a government-owned jet seized on its behalf by a French court as a “gesture of goodwill” to facilitate negotiations, the firm announced on Friday.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd. stated that it lifted the seizure of the Nigerian presidential Airbus A330 to demonstrate its intention to “consistently act reasonably and fairly” throughout a legal dispute that it claims was not of its own making.
The dispute originates from a 2007 agreement between Zhongshan and Nigeria’s Ogun State to develop a free trade zone, a contract the state government terminated in 2015. The Nigerian government argued that the company had done little more than erect a perimeter fence on the designated land.
“Zhongshan remains committed to engaging in serious and substantive talks with representatives of the Federal Government of Nigeria to reach a reasonable compromise settlement swiftly,” the company said in a statement.
The Nigerian government has not yet responded to requests for comment. Earlier this year, Zhongshan obtained two orders from a French court, in March and August, to seize Nigerian assets following an arbitration award of more than $60 million.
On Thursday, the Nigerian government accused Zhongshan of orchestrating a campaign to seize its assets abroad, including presidential jets undergoing maintenance in France, due to the ongoing dispute.
