Seizure of 3 Nigerian Presidential Planes: The Full Story Behind the Shocking Controversy

This lengthy problem began in 2007 when Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Limited and the Ogun State Government, led by Governor Otunba Gbenga Daniel (2003-2011), inked an agreement to establish the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone.

This deal, which was an integral part of an ongoing effort to strengthen commercial relations between Nigeria and China, was anticipated to result in significant investment and regional economic expansion.

Nevertheless, Zhongshan’s management contract was unexpectedly terminated in 2015 by Senator Ibikunle Amosun (2011-2019), the newly elected governor. 4 long legal court cases in nigeria that the Ogun state government won resulted from this lack of serious assessment of the legal implications.

Under the China-Nigeria Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), Zhongshan filed an investment treaty arbitration against Nigeria because it was upset by the sudden termination. Zhongshan won the arbitration panel’s decision and was given a settlement of about $70 million, plus interest and legal fees.

Zhongshan had to take the tribunal’s decision to international courts because the Nigerian government, acting through Ogun State, had refused to pay the compensation that had been granted.

Along with earlier measures that also targeted Nigerian-owned properties in the UK, a French court allowed the seizure of the 3 Nigerian presidential planes to recover the outstanding debts.

The 3 Nigerian presidential planes that had been impounded were being maintained in Europe. Top government officials used the luxurious Dassault Falcon 7X for official trips; it was detained in Paris, and the Boeing 737 and Airbus A330 were seized in Basel-Mulhouse, Switzerland.

The Nigerian government has launched legal and diplomatic attempts to retrieve the 3 Nigerian presidential planes in reaction to the seizures through the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Attorney General of the Federation.

In an attempt to negotiate a resolution, Zhongshan representatives met with Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State and the Attorney General of the Federation in September 2023. However, the three-day meeting resulted in a dead end.

The center of attention of this embarrassment has been the involvement of Senator Ibikunle Amosun and Otunba Gbenga Daniel, two former governors of Ogun State.

Even though Gbenga Daniel was in charge of starting the deal with Zhongshan in 2007, the litigation that resulted in the seizures of 3 Nigerian presidential planes was started by Ibikunle Amosun’s decision to end the contract in 2015.

Numerous Nigerians have expressed their outrage at this state of affairs, holding the former governors accountable for the ensuing diplomatic and financial impasse.

Both governors—Amosun as a senator and Daniel as a former governor—are currently reaping the rewards of their political careers, and critics argue that they deserve to be held responsible for the results of their choices.

Many feel that the Nigerian people shouldn’t have to pay for their poor judgment, thus they are calling for both parties to be penalized $35 million each to pay the arbitration award’s expenses.