The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has denied involvement in the alleged sale of Nigerian-registered aircraft to Iran adding that it is investigating the matter.
The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, said this during a programme on TVC News titled, “Beyond 100 Days program”.
He said, “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.”
A report had alleged that Nigerian-registered aircraft had been sold without proper documentation and smuggled to Iran.
According to the report, the two Nigerian registered aircraft- an Airbus A340-600 with the registration number 5N-AAM and a Boeing 737 – 300 with the registration number 5N-YSM, were smuggled to Mahran Air by Azman Air.
The report further claimed that the aircraft are currently stored in Tehran at Imam Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad Airport in Iran.
The Middle East Forum Observer named Azman Air among several companies allegedly involved in the deal.
Achimugu clarified, “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.
“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 key issue under scrutiny is the alleged deactivation of transponders on some aircraft. The NCAA has reached out to the Civil Aviation Authority of Iran for clarification, as the incident reportedly occurred outside Nigerian 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.”
The NCAA noted that there is no evidence of the sale of any aircraft anywhere.
It added, “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.”