Orlean Invest Africa Limited, a private oil and gas logistics provider in Nigeria operating in the Onne Oil & Gas Free Zone (OGFZ), has appealed a Federal High Court ruling ordering the forfeiture of a Bombardier BD-700 Global 6000 aircraft to the federal government over unpaid Customs duties worth up to $1 billion.
The company filed a notice of appeal on January 23, one day after the Abuja court delivered its judgment, claiming the decision was reached without evidence and seeking a stay of execution to halt enforcement of the order while the case is heard at the Court of Appeal.
According to Orlean Invest’s appeal, the jet entered Nigeria only on charter as a visiting aircraft and was never permanently brought into the country. It said the aircraft had at all times remained registered on the Malta Aircraft Registry and was never transferred to Nigerian registration, adding that unchallenged evidence showed its last entry into Nigeria was in 2018.
It also disputed the court’s order of final forfeiture, arguing that no proof was presented to justify condemning the aircraft to the Federal Government or holding Orlean Invest liable for customs duty on an asset it says it neither owns nor imported.
In June 2025, the Customs agency obtained an ex parte court order to seize and detain the aircraft. Orlean Invest challenged this, saying it was based on unsubstantiated claims by the Nigeria Customs Service and obtained through misrepresentation or concealment of material facts.
The appeal comes amid a broader crackdown by the Nigeria Customs Service on private aircraft operating without proper documentation. Customs has described the forfeiture as an enforcement milestone in the private aviation sector, where unregulated importation of jets has long been a recurring problem.
As of August 2021, Customs said 30 out of 65 verified private planes in Nigeria were found liable to pay duties, many of which entered the country under temporary importation arrangements.
In June 2024, the agency launched a nationwide verification exercise to identify aircraft operating without valid permits and recover unpaid duties. It said the exercise became necessary after several aircraft owners failed to regularise their status or settle outstanding obligations once those temporary agreements expired.
Orlean Invest is asking the Court of Appeal to set aside the Federal High Court judgment delivered on January 22 and dismiss Customs’ application for forfeiture of the aircraft in its entirety.
