The legal battle between Nigeria and Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment Ltd, a Chinese company, seems to be far from over.
Just days ago, three presidential jets owned by the Nigerian government were seized.
Now, in a fresh development, the company is set to sell two Liverpool properties seized from the country on eBay.
Basically, this legal dispute with Nigeria is over an alleged contract breach by the Ogun State government.
Seeking to recover $70 million from Nigeria, Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment Ltd made a bold move.
Around June 2024, the Chinese investment firm took possession of two properties in Liverpool, UK, after Nigeria failed to pay an arbitration award issued in 2021.
Zhongshang targeted the properties at 15 Aigburth Hall Road and Beech Lodge, 49 Calderstones Road, following a December 2021 British court order.
This ruling granted the company the authority to seize Nigerian assets in the UK.
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To recover the unpaid sum, which by August 2024 had grown with two percent monthly interest.
The arbitration, concluded in March 2021, awarded Zhongshang $55.7 million, plus $9.4 million in interest and additional legal costs.
Zhongshang Vs Nigeria
The dispute arose when Ogun State, part of Nigeria, allegedly violated a 2001 trade agreement.
This agreement was between Nigeria and China.
Ogun State violated this agreement by rescinding Zhongshang’s rights to a free trade zone in 2016.
In 2018, Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment Ltd filed a complaint against Nigeria in a UK arbitration panel.
To them, Ogun State misused federal agencies like the police without following due process.
Zhongshang’s Background And Current Status.
The case stemmed from the expulsion of two Zhongshang executives from Nigeria in 2016, with one reportedly detained and tortured by the police.
Unlike a recent overturned $11 billion arbitration with P&ID, the Zhongshang case has seen European courts enforcing orders to seize Nigerian assets.
In the U.S, an appellate panel denied Nigeria sovereign immunity from Zhongshang’s recovery efforts.
Zhongshang is now preparing to sell two seized properties in Liverpool, potentially listing them on eBay for around $2.2m.
Zhongshang seized the properties because they lacked diplomatic protection.
Officials frequently rented out the Liverpool properties, so they weren’t link to Nigeria’s diplomatic mission.
On June 14, 2024, UK High Court Judge Lisa Sullivan ruled that state immunity didn’t apply because Nigeria used the properties commercially.
This allowed Zhongshang Fucheng to take them.
A source confirmed the sales would be transparent, keeping Nigerians informed.
