‘No Evidence of Nigerian Aircraft Sold to Iran’ – NCAA

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has denied involvement in the alleged sale of Nigerian-registered aircraft to Iran.

The agency issued this denial on Tuesday night through its Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu.

While appearing on TVC News’ Beyond 100 Days program, Achimugu described the allegations as false and urged the public to fact-check stories before spreading them. He also revealed that the NCAA has begun investigations into the matter.

“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.

Earlier reports claimed that Nigerian-registered aircraft had been sold without due process. According to the allegations, an Airbus A340-600 with the registration number 5N-AAM and a Boeing 737-300 with the registration number 5N-YSM were smuggled to Iran and sold.

Neusroom understands that the planes are being kept at Imam Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad Airport in Tehran, Iran. Azman Air is alleged to have smuggled the planes to Mahan Air.

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Foreign-based media outlet Middle East Forum Observer accused Azman Air and other companies of aiding Mahan Air in circumventing sanctions in Africa. However, Achimugu dismissed these claims, asserting that any sale of Nigerian-registered aircraft requires deregistration in Nigeria—a process that, according to him, has not occurred.

“As far as the NCAA is concerned, we have not been involved in the sale of any aircraft. For such aircraft to be sold, they must first be deregistered here in Nigeria. That has not been done. So we need to investigate how any aircraft could have been sold without deregistration,” Achimugu explained.

He further disclosed that the NCAA is scrutinizing the alleged deactivation of transponders on the aircraft.

“We have already written to the Iranian Civil Aviation Authority for clarification on this matter. If a transponder was turned off outside our jurisdiction, the CAA or Air Traffic Control of that country should have reported it to us. We have received no such complaints. So we are seeking clarification over that,” he added.

Achimugu reiterated that no evidence currently supports the claim of aircraft sales.

“There is no evidence of the sale of any aircraft yet. The story circulating does not include specifics. How were these aircraft deregistered before being sold? We are investigating, and we will find out what happened,” he assured.

He also informed the public that the NCAA would announce the results of its investigations once they are concluded.