Headlines
French Court Orders Seizure of Three Nigerian Jets over Brawl Between Chinese Firm, Ogun Govt
A French court has authorised the seizure of three presidential jets linked to the Federal Government of Nigeria, according to PREMIUM TIMES report.
Two of the jets, part of the Nigerian presidential air fleet, were recently put up for sale, while the third, an Airbus 330, was purchased by Nigeria but not yet delivered.
The seizure of the presidential jets is a result of an application by Zhongshan, a Chinese company whose export processing zone management contract was revoked by the Ogun State government in 2016.
An independent arbitral tribunal chaired by the former President of the UK Supreme Court awarded Zhongshan about $74.5 million in compensation, but the Ogun State government, which has a dispute with Zhongshan, has yet to honour the award.
The Federal Government is facing this backlash over an action taken by one of its subnationals with which Zhongshan has a business dispute.
The seized presidential jets include a Dassault Falcon 7X at Le Bourget airport in Paris, a Boeing 737, and an Airbus 330 at Basel-Mulhouse airport in Switzerland. All are currently undergoing maintenance. The Nigerian government reportedly paid over $100 million for the Airbus.
The court order prohibits the movement, sale, or purchase of the jets until Zhongshan receives the awarded $74.5 million. Bailiffs have served papers for each aircraft.
The Nigerian government is yet to comment on this development.
The confiscation of the planes follows the recent seizure of Nigerian-owned buildings in Liverpool, England, by a UK court in relation to the same dispute with Zhongshan. The properties against which Zhongshan secured charging orders are located at 15 Aigburth Hall Road, Liverpool and Beech Lodge, 49 Calderstones Road, Liverpool, estimated by the company to be worth between £1.3 and £1.7 million.
The Ogun State government and Zhongshan have been locked in a long-drawn battle over the management of an export processing zone in the South-west state.
On 29 June 2010, Zhuhai Zhongfu Industrial Group Co Ltd, the parent company of Zhongshan, and the Ogun Guangdong Free Trade Zone (OGFTZ) entered into a framework agreement on the establishment of Fucheng Industrial Park within the zone. The agreement gave Zhuhan the right to develop and run Fucheng Park within the zone.
The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority registered Zhongfu International Investment (NIG) FZE, a subsidiary of Zhongshan, as a free trade zone enterprise within the OGFZ in 2011. The Ogun State government later appointed Zhongfu as the interim manager/administrator of the zone.
But in July 2016, Zhongfu alleged that the Ogun State Government moved to terminate its appointment, and appoint another manager for the free trade zone.
Zhongfu then launched an investment treaty arbitration against Nigeria, citing the bilateral investment treaty between the People’s Republic of China and Nigeria.
On 26 March 2021, an arbitral tribunal issued a final award of $55,675,000 in addition to an interest of $9.4 million and costs of £2,864,445 payable by Nigeria to Zhongshan.
PREMIUM TIMES learned that afterwards, the federal government repeatedly pleaded with the Ogun State Government to amicably resolve its dispute with Zhongshan but still no settlement was reached.
Source: Premium Times
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Biodun Oyebanji, winner of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election.
Oyebanji secured a landslide victory, polling 319,224 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dr. Wole Oluyede, who garnered 40,543 votes. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Dare Bejide, came a distant third with 12,872 votes.
The election, held across all 16 local government areas of the state, was overshadowed by reports of irregularities and widespread allegations of vote buying, drawing strong condemnation from observers.
The official results were announced on Sunday morning by the Chief Returning Officer, Professor Adenike Oladiji, who declared Oyebanji duly elected after meeting the constitutional requirements.
In her declaration, Professor Oladiji stated: “I, Professor Adenike Oladiji, hereby certify that I am the Returning Officer for the Ekiti State Governorship Election held on June 20, 2026, and that the election was conducted in compliance with the provisions of the law. Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of valid votes cast, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
Source: Reuters
Arise Television anchor, Rufai Oseni, has alleged that there may be attempts to prevent key opposition figures, including Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, from appearing on the ballot for the 2027 general elections.
Oseni’s remark followed a Federal High Court judgment ordering the de-registration of some political parties.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples’ Party (APP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Action Alliance Party (AAP) over alleged constitutional breaches.
The judgment arose from a lawsuit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which argued that the affected parties failed to meet constitutional and statutory electoral performance requirements necessary for continued recognition as political parties.
Justice Lifu subsequently barred INEC from recognising the affected parties, accepting nominations from them or permitting them to participate in activities related to the 2027 general elections.
The ruling, if upheld, could affect the political ambitions of several politicians, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is the ADC presidential flag-bearer, and Osun State governor Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord Party.
But speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Tuesday, Oseni described the court ruling as a “test” of public reaction, warning that more actions could follow ahead of the next general election.
According to him, opposition parties such as the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, should be cautious, claiming that efforts could be made to stop major figures from participating in the election.
Oseni argued that the judgment was part of a broader process aimed at shaping the political landscape ahead of 2027.
He maintained that the ruling came despite some of the affected parties having recorded electoral victories in recent elections.
He warned that Nigerians must remain vigilant to safeguard the country’s democracy, stressing the need for judicial reforms alongside efforts to tackle insecurity.
Oseni said: “NDC, ADC should be careful because there will be attempt, and this is me predicting now, to ensure that Obi, Atiku and other big contenders are not on the ballot.
“This that you saw yesterday is just a test. This is not the real place where the whole thing is going. This is me predicting now.
“You know before you have a show you test the microphone. They want to see the reactions of Nigerians. More is still coming.
“You can see how they carry a judgement when ADC won two House of Representatives seats in Kogi, one Kogi House of Assembly seat, APP one chairmanship seat in Jigawa, Zenith Labour party won several seats in Abia, but they still went ahead and issued judgement for deregistration after the Court of Appeal, a higher court, said it should stay on that.
“If we want to deal with this judicial rascality, can I tell you something? The judge that gave this judgment, nothing will happen to him. Nothing on this earth. They are just coming.
“And who is leading this group? Gbajabiamila. Have you forgotten what Gbajabiamila said on Hon Ajibade’s birthday? So they are just coming. This one is just a test. The next one they will do is the NDC.
“With the way they’re going, if Nigerians don’t shine their eyes when they will finally have this election, you will not have the major contenders in the ballot. This thing they have just done is to test reactions from Nigerians.
“I saw this thing coming. You know we are going into an election in which Atiku Abubakar is the only major candidate from the North. It’s not like the last one you have Kwankwaso that can split the Kano votes. And you have Peter Obi and general consensus that a lot of people are in abject penury, insecurity is raging hard.
“This is the beginning of many things. They are just testing the microphone. It’s engineered. More is coming. Nigerians, it is you that will save your democracy. Judicial reforms have become so important as insecurity in Nigeria.”
