The Federal Government has concluded plans to appeal the judgement granting Chinese investors, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment, permission to seize £20 million worth of the country’s assets.
It said that the legal team was already studying the judgement, in order to appeal and prevent the country from losing foreign and local assets to investors.
The apex government’s reaction came hours after The Guild reported that British Virgin Islands court granted the investors permission to seize the country’s assets over an Ogun trade zone deal that fell through under the administration of Ibikunle Amosun, the former governor of the state.
The Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, disclosed this while responding to questions from journalists over the judgement.
Bwala noted that the judgment cannot be enforced immediately, noting that Nigeria will vacate the judgement.
The court granted the investors’ request after the Nigerian Government could not convince the judge that the deal which fell through under the administration of former governor, Ibikunle Amosun, was the firm’s inability to fulfill promises made on the investment.
Granting the investors’ request, Justice Paul Webster of the British Virgin Islands High Court held that Nigeria was not immune to execution of an arbitral award and subsequent judgment debt in favour of a Chinese company Zhongshan as a result of the wording of the underlying bilateral investment treaty concluded between China and Nigeria.
The judge held that a term of the treaty which provided that “both contracting parties shall commit to the enforcement of the award” constituted “a written consent of the Nigerian state.”
During the proceeding on November 8, the judge stressed that based on Section 13(3) of the State Immunity Act 1978, the British Virgin Islands must allow Zhongshan to enforce the judgement debt against Nigeria from the UK.
Zhongshan was represented in the case by Timothy Otty (King’s Counsel) and Lauren Peaty of Withers British Virgin Islands.
Otty, who confirmed the development, said that Nigeria was not immune from the execution of an arbitral award of the contract between China and Nigeria.
The ruling marks the latest in a string of losses Nigeria has suffered in foreign jurisdictions over the past years. Following the initial judgement in the UK, courts in France, Belgium, Canada, the United States, British Virgin Islands, among others, have found Nigeria liable to settle the debt and dismissed the country’s sovereign immunity argument as unfounded and unenforceable against Zhongshan.
