Three Nigerian State-owned Jets Seized Amid a Long-standing Dispute with a Chinese Firm
A Zambian Air Force plane parked on the tarmac, with commercial aircraft visible in the background at the airport.
The row stems from a 2007 contract between Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment and Nigeria’s south-western Ogun State to develop a free-trade zone where a massive industrial park was to be developed to attract investors. The agreement was terminated between 2015 and 2016. According to media reports, Zhongshan said it was forced out of the deal through a “campaign of illegal acts”. The authorities in Nigeria have fiercely condemned the seizure of its planes, suggesting Zhongshan had a sole objective of “undercutting and scamming” an African government. In a statement by spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, Nigeria’s presidential office accused Zhongshan of mounting a wider campaign to seize its assets overseas.