FG Reacts to Sale of Registered Nigerian Aircraft to Iran, Launches Investigation

The Federal Government has reacted to report that a registered Nigerian aircraft has been sold to an Iranian airline company.

Michael Achimugu, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority while speaking on TVC News’ Beyond 100 Days program said no aircraft registered in Nigeria was sold.

Dismissing the report that the aircraft was smuggled out of the country to Iran without appropriate documentation, Achimugu said weighty allegations have been made and investigations have been launched into the matter by the NCAA.

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.”

Explaining further, he said that there are processes to the sale of aircraft and these include deregistreing the said plane in Nigeria before its onward transportation to the receiving country.

He said, “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,” Achimugu added.