The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has said it was investigating the alleged sale of an Airbus A340-600 with the registration number 5N-AAM and a Boeing 737-300 with the registration number 5N-YSM to an Iranian company.
The NCAA spokesperson, Michael Achimugu, revealed this when he appeared on TVC News “Beyond 100 Days program” on Tuesday night, where he also said his organization was not involved in the alleged sale of the two aircraft.
Both aircraft are Nigerian-registered.
Achimugu said the media reports allegations were unfounded and lacked specific details.
“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,” Achimugu explained.
The NCAA insists that no evidence currently supports claims of aircraft sales or deregistration, adding that “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.
“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.
Achimugu said the findings of the investigation would be made public. “As soon as the results of the investigations are out, it will be out there,” he stated.
