The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has asserted that presidential aircraft are sovereign assets used exclusively for official purposes and are thus protected from seizure by any party. In a statement issued on Thursday by his Special Assistant, Media, Fagbemi responded to an interim attachment of three presidential jets undergoing routine maintenance in France. This action followed orders from the Judicial Court of Paris issued on March 7 and August 12, 2024, at the request of Zhongshan Industrial Investment Company Limited, a Chinese firm seeking to enforce a Final Award against the Ogun State government.
Fagbemi clarified that while the dispute originated from a contract issue between Zhongshan and Ogun State, the enforcement measures were improperly targeting Federal Government assets. He emphasized that such enforcement actions against a sovereign state’s assets violate international law principles, which shield state property from attachment in such contexts.
