Chinese company releases seized Nigerian plane for Tinubu’s trip to France

Chinese firm Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Company Limited has released one of the three Nigerian aircraft seized in France, Premium Times reports.

The company on Thursday seized a Dassault Falcon 7X, a Boeing 737-7N6/BBJ, and an Airbus A330-243 belonging to the Federal Government stationed at Paris-Le Bourget and Basel-Mulhouse airports in France.

This followed an order by the Paris judicial court on a contract dispute between the Ogun State government and Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Company Limited.

The federal government had since vowed to take legal and diplomatic action to reverse the “inappropriate order.”

On Friday, the company spokesman told Premium Times it has released one of the seized jets as a “goodwill gesture” ahead of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s upcoming meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.

READ ALSO: Chinese company offers to settle with Nigerian govt over seizure of presidential jets

It added that the Nigerian leader would be allowed to use the aircraft for his trip to France.

“Zhongshan has consistently acted reasonably and fairly in a legal dispute with Nigeria, which it did not initiate.

“The company has been informed that an Airbus A330, currently detained in France due to a French court order obtained by Zhongshan, is needed by the President of Nigeria for his upcoming meeting with President Macron next week. As a goodwill gesture, Zhongshan has lifted the seizure, allowing the aircraft to be used for the President’s trip.

“Zhongshan has only sought to assert its rights under international law and remains confident in its case. The independent arbitral panel found unanimously in our favor, and courts in several countries have affirmed the panel’s award of compensation. The French court had all the relevant facts when it made its decision,” the spokesman added.

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