The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has asserted that the aircraft within Nigeria’s presidential fleet are sovereign assets designated for official government use and are therefore shielded from seizure by any external party.
In a statement released by his Special Assistant on Media on Thursday in Abuja, Fagbemi clarified the situation following the interim attachment of three Nigerian presidential aircraft, currently undergoing routine maintenance in France, due to ex parte orders issued by the Judicial Court of Paris.
“The attachment by French authorities was in response to an alleged debt owed by the Nigerian government,” the statement read.
Fagbemi explained that both the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Attorney General’s office are actively exploring diplomatic and legal avenues to resolve the issue.
He emphasised that the aircraft in question are protected under sovereign immunity laws and should not have been subjected to such actions.
“Efforts are underway to overturn these inappropriate orders against the aircraft, which are covered by sovereign immunity,” he added.
“The federal government maintains that the planes are sovereign assets used exclusively for government purposes, making them immune from seizure, as attempted by Zhongshan.”
The orders, dated March 7 and August 12, 2024, were obtained by Zhongshan Industrial Investment Company Limited, a Chinese firm, seeking to enforce a Final Award granted in its favor on March 26, 2024, against the Ogun State government.
This arbitral award stems from a 2018 contractual dispute between Zhongshan and the Ogun State government. Although the original dispute involved Ogun State, the enforcement actions are now being directed against the Federal Government and its assets.
Zhongshan contends that under international law, the actions of a substantial local entity, like a state government, can be attributed to the national government, justifying their attempt to target federal assets.
