By Chico Mies The confrontation between Leonidas and Xerxes in 300 and the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State share striking thematic similarities, particularly in the struggle between power and resistance. Leonidas’ quote: “The world will know that a free man stood against a tyrant. That few stood against many. And before this battle was over, even a god-king can bleed.” resonates deeply with the current standoff in Rivers State, where Governor Siminalayi Fubara finds himself at odds with the federal authority following President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency. The Tyrant vs. The Free Man In 300, Xerxes presents himself as an all-powerful ruler, demanding submission from Leonidas and the Spartans. Similarly, Tinubu’s imposition of emergency rule can be interpreted as an assertion of supreme federal power over Rivers State, challenging its autonomy. Fubara, like Leonidas, stands as a figure of defiance, resisting what he and his supporters perceive ...
Report: Amid an ongoing legal dispute, a French court seizes Nigeria's new presidential jet and other aircraft.
A French court is said to have seized three Nigerian presidential jets, one of which is a recently acquired Airbus, in the midst of a legal dispute.
According to a Premium Times report, a lengthy legal dispute between a sub-national and Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd, a Chinese corporation, resulted in the seizure of three aircraft connected to the Nigerian government by a French court.
The seizure includes a newly acquired Airbus A330 valued at over $100 million.
The aircraft in question—a Dassault Falcon 7X, a Boeing 737, and an Airbus A330—had either been part of the Nigerian presidential fleet or were recently purchased by the government.
According to the article, Basel-Mulhouse International Airport was home to the Boeing 737 and Airbus A330 for comparable maintenance purposes, while the Dassault Falcon 7X was being maintained at Paris-Le Bourget airport.
According to ARISE News, after persistent attempts to obtain a response from the Presidency, a presidential media aide informed them that Festus Keyamo, the Minister of Aviation, was best qualified to comment on the situation.
Tunde Moshood, Keyamo's media assistant, declined to confirm or refute the story but said that Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney-General of the Federation, would be a more appropriate person to address the issue.
Though a spokesman requested time to gather information and pledged to respond once he had more, attempts to contact Fagbemi had been fruitless as of the time of publication.
The report states that Zhongshan, a Chinese company whose export processing zone management contract was suspended by the Ogun State government in 2016, applied for and was granted access to the presidential jets.
Zhongshan was awarded €74,459,221 in compensation by an arbitral tribunal presided over by a former president of the UK Supreme Court; however, the verdict has not yet been implemented.
Zhongshan thereupon requested that the arbitral award be enforced via the French legal system.
The corporation was given permission to seize the aircraft by the enforcement judge of the Paris Judicial Court. The court decision stated that the purpose of the protective seizure was to safeguard and maintain the claim that resulted from the arbitration award that was reached by an ad hoc arbitral panel on March 26, 2021.
The aircraft "will be positioned so that the cockpit faces a wall or building or in any other way that prevents it from taking off again autonomously," the court further directed, preventing the aircraft from moving.
According to the report, Zhongshan has also taken comparable measures in the UK, where properties in Liverpool that belong to the The Nigerian government were removed under court orders in connection with the same unresolved dispute.
By Chico Mies.
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