The contract dispute between Nigeria and Chinese investment group, Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment Ltd, seems to have taken a new turn.
The Chinese firm accused Ogun State Government of violating a 2001 trade treaty between Nigeria and China when its rights to a free trade zone were rescinded in 2016.
The company dragged Nigeria before the arbitration panel in the UK in 2018, alleging that Nigeria allowed its federal organs like the police, immigration and export processing authority to be deployed by Ogun State without due process.
Court documents said two Zhongshang executives were expelled from Nigeria between mid and late 2016 after one of them had allegedly been detained and tortured by the police.
As part of plans to recover its $70 million in arbitration awards, the Chinese firm has taken over and placed two of Nigeria’s guest houses in Liverpool, United Kingdom, for sale on eBay.
The properties, located at 15 Aigburth Hall Road and Beech Lodge, 49 Calderatones Road, Liverpool, were placed on sale at $2.2 million.
A consultant working with Zhongshang told Peoples Gazette that the firm has been working to put the two Liverpool houses up for sale.
“They said the value of both properties should be around $2.2 million, so they already put together a plan to sell them to willing buyers,” the consultant said under the condition of anonymity.
“Some websites like eBay might bring buyers faster than other methods.”
Although the properties belong to Nigeria, they were seized because they weren’t listed as Nigerian diplomatic or consular assets.
It was learnt that those currently occupying the properties had no ties to the Nigerian mission in the UK.
It was unclear when Nigeria bought the assets, but a senior judge said its officials had regularly rented out both places to guests.