The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has distanced itself from allegations of involvement in the purported sale of Nigerian-registered aircraft, affirming that investigations into the matter are ongoing.
Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the NCAA, Michael Achimugu, addressed these claims during an appearance on TVC News’ “Beyond 100 Days” program on Tuesday night.
Achimugu described the allegations as baseless, emphasizing the necessity of a comprehensive investigation.
“These are weighty allegations that have been made. So the natural course of justice is to investigate these allegations. And you do not investigate any such story without speaking to the parties that have been named,” he stated.
Earlier reports from media outlets, excluding PUNCH, had claimed that some Nigerian-registered aircraft were sold without proper documentation.
This followed a controversial report about aircraft allegedly smuggled from Nigeria to Iran.
The planes involved are said to include an Airbus A340-600, registered as 5N-AAM, and a Boeing 737-300, registered as 5N-YSM.
These aircraft are reportedly stored in Tehran at Imam Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad Airport, respectively. Allegedly sold to an Iranian airline, the sales are said to breach international sanctions against Iran.
Foreign media outlets, including the Middle East Forum Observer, alleged that Azman Air played a role in facilitating Mahan Air’s attempts to bypass sanctions through Africa.
Achimugu, however, clarified that such sales would necessitate deregistration in Nigeria, which has not occurred.
“As far as the NCAA is concerned, we have not been involved in the sales of any aircraft. Because to sell such aircraft, they need to have been deregistered here in Nigeria being Nigerian-registered aircraft. That has not been done here. So we need to investigate how any aircraft would have been sold,” he explained.
He also pointed out the lack of concrete details in the reports, saying, “To the best of our knowledge, no such thing has happened yet. The reports we have read, just like you have read, did not mention any specifics. How were these aircraft deregistered before they were sold? We need to investigate. And these investigations are ongoing.”
One issue being examined is the alleged deactivation of transponders on the aircraft. Achimugu noted that the NCAA had contacted Iran’s Civil Aviation Authority for clarification, as the incident reportedly occurred outside Nigeria’s jurisdiction.
“But of particular interest is the issue of the turning off of the transponder. We have already written the Iranian CAA for clarification on that. If a transponder was turned off outside our jurisdiction, then the CAA or Air Traffic Control of that country is supposed to have complained to us. We have received no such complaints. So there is no way we would have known. So we are seeking clarification over that,” he stated.
According to Achimugu, no evidence has yet surfaced to substantiate the claims of aircraft sales or deregistration.
“There is no evidence of the sale of any aircraft anywhere yet. The story is just being put out there that says aircraft have been sold. There is no evidence to that effect. For those aircraft to be sold, they need to be deregistered in Nigeria. That has not been done. So we do not know that any aircraft have been sold. Like I said, it is under investigation. And we will find out what happened,” he added.
He assured the public that the outcome of the investigation would be shared openly. “As soon as the results of the investigations are out, it will be out there,” Achimugu concluded.
