Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Chief Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has asserted that the interim seizure of three Nigerian presidential jets in France cannot withstand legal scrutiny, as Nigeria, being a sovereign nation, is immune from civil liability and jurisdiction of foreign courts.
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Agbakoba, argued that the Federal Government has a strong case for recovering the seized aircraft. He highlighted two main points in support of his stance.
Firstly, Agbakoba emphasized that Nigeria, as a sovereign state, cannot be subjected to civil processes and jurisdiction of any court. He stated, “Please note that as the matter stands, Nigeria is fully immune from civil liability. This case concerns the civil liability of a sub national of Nigeria, namely Ogun State.”
Secondly, the legal expert pointed out that the Federal Government was not a party to the contractual agreement between Ogun State Government and the Chinese firm, Zhongfu International Investment FXE, which led to the dispute and subsequent seizure order.
Agbakoba questioned the notion that a sovereign state should be held liable for judgments issued against its subnational entities, describing it as a controversial concept in international law.
“If Nigeria will be liable at all for the liability of Ogun State, which is doubtful, then in any case, Nigeria has a very good case of citing sovereign immunity,” Agbakoba explained. “On the basis of the second grounds (of not being a party to the agreement), I strongly suggest that Nigeria should take urgent steps to get its aircraft released from attachment.”
The interim seizure order was issued by a Judicial Court in Paris in favor of the Chinese firm, despite the dispute arising from a contractual agreement between Ogun State Government and Zhongfu International Investment FXE. The consequential enforcement order was directed against the Federal Government, even though the three presidential jets were undergoing routine maintenance in France.
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