Kehinde Fajobi
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has denied involvement in the alleged sale of Nigerian-registered aircraft and confirmed ongoing investigations into the claims.
Speaking on TVC News’ Beyond 100 Days programme on Tuesday night, the NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, dismissed the allegations as baseless but stressed the need for a thorough inquiry.
“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,” Achimugu stated.
Reports on other news platforms earlier this week alleged that Nigerian-registered aircraft were sold without proper documentation.
Among the claims was that two aircraft—an Airbus A340-600 with registration number 5N-AAM and a Boeing 737-300 with registration number 5N-YSM—were smuggled to Iran and sold to Mahan Air, violating international sanctions.
The planes are reportedly stored at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad Airport.
The Middle East Forum Observer alleged that Azman Air was involved in Mahan Air’s efforts to bypass sanctions in Africa.
Achimugu refuted the claims, stating that the sale of Nigerian-registered aircraft would require 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.
“That has not been done here. So we need to investigate how any aircraft would have been sold,” he said.
He also noted that the reports lack specific evidence. “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,” he added.
Achimugu addressed allegations of transponders being deactivated on some aircraft, explaining that the NCAA has contacted Iran’s Civil Aviation Authority for clarification.
“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 we are seeking clarification over that,” he explained.
The NCAA maintained that no evidence currently supports 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,” Achimugu reiterated.
He assured the public that the investigation’s findings would be made public. “As soon as the results of the investigations are out, it will be out there,” he said.