The Nigerian government has pleaded sovereign immunity at the U.S. Supreme Court, stonewalling Chinese investors who sought to seize $70 million from the West African nation’s crude earnings account with JP Morgan over a botched trade deal.

Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment went after Nigeria’s foreign assets after a fallout with then-Governor Ibikunle Amosun, who they claimed reneged on the terms of their contract and illegally had them tortured in a Nigerian cell for weeks.

As payback, Zhongshang actively sought to confiscate tens of millions of dollars from Nigeria and has begun seizing the nation’s treasured assets like two guest houses in Liverpool, UK and two aircraft in France and Canada.

The Chinese investors had obtained judgements that favoured their quest to seize Nigeria’s national assets from the UK Court in 2021, in which they were awarded $55.6 million in compensation and $75,000 in moral damages alongside interests and arbitration fees.

The expatriates took the UK’s judgment to the U.S. for enforcement, where Nigeria’s JP Morgan was domiciled.

Unwilling to part with its assets, Nigeria pleaded sovereign immunity at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in Washington, where the judges tossed out Nigeria’s defence, deeming it too weak to stand on August 9.

But the appellate court on September 26 said it would hold Zhongshang off on enforcing their decision to seize $70 million if Nigeria filed a writ of certiorari before the Supreme Court no later than November 7 and produced proof of the writ.

Desperate and dissatisfied, Nigeria sought the last resort to protect its assets by appealing the ruling at the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the high-ranking jurists to review the judgement of the lower courts in a writ of certiorari.

The writ of certiorari was a request asking the senior court to examine the matter, particularly the lower court rulings.

Nigeria filed the certiorari on November 7 and notified the lower court to continue with the enforcement of the judgment.

“Pursuant to the Court’s Order, Nigeria hereby notifies the Court that it filed a Petition for Certiorari on November 7, 2024,” wrote Keith Bradley of the Squire Patton Boggs law firm who was representing Nigeria in the matter.

“Nigeria respectfully asks that consistent with the September 26th Order, the clerk continue to withhold issuance of the mandate pending the final disposition of the matter,” the lawyer added.

It is up to the Supreme Court to grant or deny the writ, but if it is okayed, senior judges will look into the judgment to determine if the lower court erred in its decision to quash Nigeria’s immunity argument.

However, if denied, the Nigerian government will be forced to comply with the appellate court’s judgment and surrender $70 million to the Chinese company.

Already, Mr Amosun implicated himself in a statement in August saying the expatriates deceived him into signing away the multibillion-naira trade zone to the dubious expatriates whose assertions were belatedly discovered to be a “tissue of lies.”

The former governor admitted to not verifying the claims of Zhongshang investors before signing the contract.