Business
Seized Presidential jets: Chinese firm accuses police of detaining, brutalising top officers
The management of a Chinese firm, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Company Limited, has said its top officials were unlawfully detained and brutalised by the police during its contractual disagreement with the Ogun State Government.
The firm said the maltreatment compelled it to seek the seizure of Nigerian assets overseas.
The media was awash on Thursday with the news of the seizure of three of Nigeria’s presidential jets, as ordered by a French court.
Two of the seized jets – a Dassault Falcon 7X and a Boeing 737 – are part of Nigeria’s presidential air fleet recently put up for sale, and the third is an Airbus 330 purchased by Nigeria but not yet delivered.
The planes, which were undergoing routine maintenance, were seized following ex parte orders issued by the judicial court of Paris on March 7 and August 12, 2024.
The seizure came after litigations were initiated by the Chinese company against the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Ogun State Government due to the termination of a contractual agreement.
An arbitral tribunal subsequently awarded Zhongshan about $74.5m in compensation, but the state government did not honour the ruling.
The company then sought the intervention of the French court, which ordered the seizure of the Federal Government’s jets, including a Dassault Falcon 7X at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, a Boeing 737, and an Airbus 330 at Basel-Mulhouse Airport in Switzerland.
The Nigerian government reportedly paid over $100m for the Airbus.
It was gathered that Zhongshan might have rejected all settlement discussions on reasonable terms proposed by the Ogun State Government due to the alleged assault on its officials.
Zhongshan, in its statement of claim to the French court, said members of its management team in Nigeria were physically harmed after being threatened.
It alleged that the Ogun State Government used the police to assault, threaten, and unlawfully detain its workers after the government revoked its export processing zone management contract.
The company claimed that its personnel, including the Chief Financial Officer of Zhongfu Nigeria Ltd. (a subsidiary of Zhongshan), Mr Wenxiao Zhao, suffered verbal and physical assault by the police, acting on orders from the state government.
In its statement of claim through its solicitors, Withers LLP and Radix Legal & Consulting Limited, Zhongshan claimed it lost $1.078bn following the termination of the contract.
The company stated, “The draconian actions of the Nigerian authorities included the Secretary to the Ogun State Government (Taiwo Adeoluwa) directly threatening Zhongfu Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Jianxin Han, to leave peacefully when there is an opportunity to do so, and avoid forceful removal, complications, and possible prosecution.
“As if this treatment were not appalling enough, the Nigerian authorities followed through on their threats of physical harm to the claimant’s management team in Nigeria. The police arrested the Chief Financial Officer of Zhongfu Nigeria, Mr Wenxiao Zhao, detained him without basis or explanation in terrible conditions, and physically beat him on two occasions before releasing him—without any charge—after a week in two jails.”
Recounting his ordeal in police custody, Zhao said, “One police officer in uniform came over to me and slapped me twice on the face. Then the police officers who brought me there took me to a room where they asked me to sign a piece of paper.
“They did not say or explain what this paper was or what it said. I refused to sign the piece of paper. The police officers then took my flip-flops and placed me in a courtyard with a number of cells surrounding it. It was dark and cold, and I was standing at the gate to one of the cells.
“Another prisoner came out of that cell and asked why I was taken. I did not speak. There were also some other people who had been brought to the courtyard, and the prisoner told us to stand side by side and asked whether we had money and why we were there. If someone had no money, he would slap them.
“Then the prisoner took me aside and asked me to speak. He said that if I did not speak, he would beat me with a club. Later, a second prisoner took me aside and told me not to be afraid. However, the first prisoner came back and threatened me with a club and asked me to speak, which I did not do.
“On what I think was the third day in the Abuja police station, a lot of people were brought into the office. The police officers moved me to another office. The police officer then approached me asking what happened. I did not respond, and he hit me twice, first on the neck and the second time on the head with a fist. It was painful, and I felt numb.
“Fearing for their safety, Zhongfu Nigeria’s management team was forced to leave Nigeria. Zhongfu Nigeria tried to take preventive legal steps in the Nigerian courts to preserve their rights, but the Ogun State Government, NEPZA, and the police orchestrated the complete evisceration of the claimant’s investment in Nigeria.”
When contacted for a reaction to the allegation of threat, the Special Adviser to the Ogun State Governor on Media and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade, said the administration of Governor Dapo Abiodun knew nothing about the claims of the Chinese firm and could not respond to them.
Akinmade said, “The incident happened over three years before the present administration came on board. I can’t speak on something we know nothing about. We don’t know what happened at that time. But we will ensure our people are not shortchanged or defrauded through fraudulent judgment.”.
The Ogun State Police Public Relations Office, Omolola Odutola, said the police were not involved in the matter.
She said, “It is not a police issue; we are not involved. It doesn’t have anything to do with us.”
Commenting on the matter, a former Nigerian ambassador to the Philippines, Yemi Farounbi, described the seizure of the presidential jets as an avoidable diplomatic embarrassment.
He said the development was a reflection of some state governments’ irresponsibility.
Speaking with newsmen Farounbi said, “It is a testimony of the irresponsibility of some of our state governments in the kinds of agreements they enter into.
“It is unfortunate, particularly when our presidential jets, and as I also read, some of our buildings and other properties somewhere, are being held because the state government made an irresponsible arrangement with a foreign company.
“It becomes important for us to verify the terms and conditions of some of these foreign contracts we go into, so that we don’t mortgage the future of our country, citizens, and indeed our properties, because we have not taken adequate care in examining critically the terms of the agreements or contracts that we enter into. What happened is an international embarrassment that is avoidable.”
Meanwhile, one of the seized jets has reportedly been released for the use of President Bola Tinubu, who is scheduled to meet the France President, Emmanuel Macron.
A spokesperson for the Chinese company, on Friday, said, “Zhongshan has been made aware that an Airbus A330, currently detained in France as a result of a French court order obtained by Zhongshan, is needed for the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to travel to a scheduled meeting with President Macron of France early next week.
“As a gesture of goodwill, Zhongshan has lifted the seizure of that aircraft immediately. This will allow it to be used for the president’s trip.”
PUNCH
Business
No Bad Blood Over New Cement Factories, But Our Mining Rights Run Till 2045 — Ibeto Tells Ebonyi Govt
ABAKALIKI, EBONYI STATE — Billionaire industrialist and Chairman of Ibeto Group, Dr. Cletus Ibeto, has clarified his position on plans by the Ebonyi State Government to establish a new cement manufacturing plant, saying he has no objection to fresh investment in the state provided his company’s existing mining rights are respected.
Ibeto, who is also a core investor in the Nigerian Cement Company (Nigercem), said the proposed development should not interfere with areas covered by valid mining leases held by his company.
“We are not against the establishment of new cement factories in Ebonyi State. However, such developments must not interfere with or overlap the specific areas where Ibeto Group holds valid Mining Lease Licences issued by the Federal Ministry,” Ibeto stated.
He said the company’s statutory mining leases covering limestone deposits in the Nkalagu axis remain valid until 2045.
Ibeto stressed the need for proper delineation and mapping of mining areas to prevent conflicts between existing title holders and new investors seeking to establish businesses in the state.
Under Nigeria’s legal framework, mineral resources are vested in the Federal Government, with mineral titles administered through the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development and the Mining Cadastre Office.
Nigercem Ready to Resume Operations
Addressing concerns over the future of the historic Nigercem plant, Ibeto said Ibeto Group remains committed to reviving the facility and is ready to commence work once outstanding administrative issues with the state government are resolved.
He said the company’s position should not be interpreted as opposition to new investment in Ebonyi, stressing that his concern was the protection of legally acquired mining rights.
The development could pave the way for both the revival of Nigercem and the entry of new investors into Ebonyi’s cement industry, provided the respective mining areas are clearly mapped out and existing legal titles are respected.
Business
Patience Jonathan Hails Azikel Boss Eruani as ‘Small Boy’ She Mentored Into Billionaire League
She said her guidance was behind his bold entry into big business at a relatively young age.
The former First Lady spoke on Tuesday in a video which went viral on Thursday during an inspection tour of the Azikel Refinery in Obunagha, Bayelsa State, alongside other dignitaries.
She said she personally introduced Eruani to billionaire businessmen, Aliko Dangote and Aminu Dantata, and pushed him to aspire to their level despite being the youngest among them.
“He’s a boy that I brought up. We are always together. Although he’s the little one among us when we are friends — Dangote, Seyi, Dantata, Eruani — among us, he’s the smallest. But I made sure he followed the Dangotes, he followed Dantata.
“Because I’m a woman in their midst, I made sure I told this small boy, ‘Go and follow them, and stop the grammar.’ But when he told me that one day he would be like Dangote, I said, ‘You’re thinking too high.’ I prayed to God to grant him his heart’s desire,” she said.
The former First Lady also recalled how the immediate past APC administration under Muhammadu Buhari initially failed to grant Eruani a refinery licence before eventually approving three.
“During the Buhari administration, he and others came to me and told me they were going to apply for a refinery. I told him, ‘Eruani, your brother, the President, did not give you a refinery.
“Is it the APC government that will give you one?’ I prayed it would happen. But later, they came back and told me they had been given three refineries,” she said.
The 25,000 barrels-per-day plant is a private hydro-skimming refinery designed to process condensate into petrol, diesel, aviation fuel, kerosene and other products.
It is set to become Nigeria’s second-largest full-slate refinery and the first major privately owned refinery in the Niger Delta.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Samuel Ogbuku, who joined the inspection tour, commended Eruani for his perseverance, noting that he had attended the project’s groundbreaking ceremony eight years ago.
Ogbuku described the refinery as an inspiration and a potential catalyst for investment, job creation and economic growth in Bayelsa State, and urged residents, particularly youths, to key into the opportunities it would create.
He also praised the Bayelsa State Government for improving road infrastructure leading to the refinery site and called for continued support for the project.
Governor Douye Diri, who was represented at the inspection by his deputy, Peter Akpe, has consistently backed the project, which is expected to employ hundreds of workers and drive industrialisation in the state.
Other dignitaries at the event included the Chairman of the Bayelsa State Council of Traditional Rulers, King Bubaraye Dakolo; Vice President of Azikel Group, Presley Asemota; and Isaac Yalah, among others.
A market check on Tuesday showed that NNPCL outlets in Abuja and nearby areas adjusted their petrol price from N1,155 per litre to N1,270 per litre.
The latest adjustment represents an increase of N115 per litre by the state-owned oil company.
The new price change follows recent increases by depot owners and petroleum marketers, who have adjusted their rates twice within a week.
The latest development also comes days after Dangote Refinery resumed the sale of refined petroleum products in dollars, a move that has raised concerns among industry players over the direction of fuel pricing in the country.
The Federal Government has disclosed that 13 of the 50 oil and gas blocks offered in the 2025 Licensing Round will be returned to the licensing basket after failing to attract bids from prospective investors.
The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, disclosed this on Tuesday at the 2025 Commercial Bid Conference in Abuja.
Eyesan said that although 50 blocks were initially put up for bidding, prospective investors showed interest in only 37.
“At the end of the exercise, we had 50 blocks on offer, but we only had representation for 37 of those 50 blocks. Thirteen of those blocks will be returning back to the basket,” she said.
She further disclosed that 143 companies participated in the commercial bid process, submitting about 200 bids for the available oil and gas assets.
“We have a total of 143 companies showing interest for 200 bids. That, for us, was remarkable, and I must say thank you,” Eyesan stated.
According to her, nearly 300 companies initially expressed interest in the licensing round, which she described as a sign of renewed investor confidence in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum sector.
“When we started the journey, we got interest from almost 300 companies. I repeat, almost 300 companies. That, in my view, was an indication that the tide has turned for Nigeria,” she said.
She explained that the number of interested companies was reduced to 196 following the prequalification stage, before the process moved to the technical and commercial evaluation phases.
“From the almost 300 interests that we got, we moved to the pre-qualification stage, and that number was pruned down to 196,” she added.
The 2025 Licensing Round was launched on November 11, 2025, in accordance with the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, with 50 oil and gas blocks put up for bidding across seven sedimentary basins.
The assets comprise 16 Niger Delta onshore blocks, 18 shallow-water blocks, one deep offshore block, three blocks in the Benin Basin, four in the Anambra Basin, four in the Chad Basin and four in the Benue Trough.
The bid portal opened on December 1, 2025, while a pre-bid conference was held in Lagos on January 14, 2026, to provide prospective investors with guidance on the bidding requirements.
Registration and prequalification submissions closed on February 27, 2026, with the prequalification process completed on March 16.
The NUPRC said winning bids are being determined through a weighted evaluation that considers signature bonus commitments, proposed work programmes and performance security. The process combines technical and commercial scores rather than relying solely on financial offers.
The framework is aimed at ensuring that Nigeria’s petroleum assets are awarded to investors with the financial capacity, technical expertise and operational strength required to accelerate exploration and production in the country’s upstream sector.
The new pricing template, which took effect on July 13, 2026, also pegs Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) at $1.087 per litre and Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK) at $0.942 per litre, while coastal deliveries of PMS have been fixed at $1,044.62 per metric tonne.
The development marks the end of naira payments for refined petroleum products, a policy introduced after the commencement of the Federal Government’s naira-for-crude initiative on October 1, 2024.
In a notice issued to petroleum marketers and customers, the refinery announced that all previously issued naira-denominated Proforma Invoices and Deal Recaps for both gantry and coastal transactions had become invalid.
The notice, signed by the refinery’s Group Commercial Operations, directed customers not to make payments against the cancelled invoices, stating that all transactions would now be conducted in United States dollars.
Under the revised pricing schedule, petrol supplied through the gantry will sell for $0.779 per litre, diesel for $1.087 per litre, aviation fuel for $0.942 per litre, while coastal PMS supplies will cost $1,044.62 per metric tonne.
The refinery, however, clarified that the transition does not affect Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), which will continue under its existing payment arrangement.
Industry sources said the decision followed a growing imbalance between the currency used to procure crude oil and that used to sell refined products.
According to the sources, the refinery now receives a larger share of its crude oil from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) under dollar-denominated supply arrangements, while a significant volume of its refined products had continued to be sold locally in naira.
The resulting mismatch, coupled with exchange-rate volatility and fluctuations in global crude oil prices, reportedly increased the refinery’s foreign exchange exposure and prompted the adoption of a uniform dollar-based pricing framework.
A source familiar with the development explained that the shift became necessary as the volume of naira-denominated crude supplies declined relative to dollar-based crude cargoes.
“The refinery is receiving fewer naira-denominated crude cargoes while a larger proportion of its refined products has continued to be sold in naira. That imbalance, combined with foreign exchange volatility, made the transition to dollar pricing inevitable,” the source said.
The decision is expected to have significant implications for petroleum marketers who source products directly from the refinery for nationwide distribution. It could also influence retail pump prices, depending on movements in the exchange rate, international crude oil prices, logistics costs and marketers’ operating expenses.
The Federal Government had introduced the naira-for-crude policy to encourage domestic refining, reduce pressure on foreign exchange demand and stabilise fuel prices. However, industry stakeholders have recently reported implementation challenges, noting that a growing proportion of crude supplies to local refiners has reverted to dollar-based transactions.
Analysts believe the latest development underscores the continued foreign exchange challenges facing Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector despite efforts to deepen local refining and reduce dependence on imported fuel.
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