Following a court order, a Chinese investor, Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment, is on the verge of taking over two Nigerian government residential properties in the United Kingdom….CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>

The two properties in prime areas of Liverpool are estimated to be worth a combined £1.7 million.

Leadership reports that the Chinese firm dragged the Nigerian government to court over a joint venture between Zhongshan and Ogun State to establish a free trade zone near Lagos in 2013.

A Zhongshan subsidiary held a 60% stake in the project, but Ogun terminated its participation three years later.

In 2021, a London-seated UNCITRAL tribunal chaired by Lord Neuberger, including Matthew Gearing KC and Rotimi Oguneso SAN, said Nigeria was guilty of expropriation and other breaches of the China-Nigeria bilateral investment treaty and ordered the country to pay US$55.6 million plus interest and costs.

The Nigerian government is reported not to have obeyed the court order,

Zhongshan then dragged Nigeria again to court, and on June 14, 2024, Master Sullivan of the Commercial Court in London granted orders for the two Liverpool properties to be handed over to the company.

Timi Balogun of Squire Patton Boggs, counsel to Nigeria, expressed disagreement with the decision, citing concerns over state immunity and the management of foreign state assets.

However, the judge dismissed the argument, noting that the order was premised on the fact that the properties had been converted to commercial use outside Nigeria’s diplomatic or consular activities in the UK, stressing that enforcement of the order should prevail.

Nigerian counsels plan to appeal the judgement.

Zhongshan also plans to drag the case enforcement in the US, Quebec, Belgium, and the British Virgin Islands and demand properties.

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