The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has strongly denied claims linking it to the alleged sale of Nigerian-registered aircraft to Iran. In a statement issued on Tuesday, NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, dismissed the accusations as baseless and confirmed that an investigation is currently underway.
The reports, which surfaced earlier this week, suggested that two Nigerian-registered aircraft—an Airbus A340-600 and a Boeing 737-300—were sold without proper documentation and transferred to Iranian airlines in violation of international sanctions. These aircraft, according to the allegations, are now stored at Imam Khomeini International Airport and Mehrabad Airport in Tehran.
Achimugu clarified that for such a sale to occur, the aircraft would need to be officially deregistered in Nigeria, a process that has not taken place. “For any aircraft to be sold, it must first be deregistered, and that has not happened,” he said during a TV interview. “We are investigating how these aircraft may have been sold without our knowledge.”
The NCAA spokesperson also addressed concerns about the alleged deactivation of transponders on the aircraft, stating that the authority has contacted the Civil Aviation Authority of Iran for clarification. “If a transponder was turned off outside our jurisdiction, the relevant authorities in Iran should have notified us, but we have received no such complaints,” Achimugu explained.
Achimugu assured the public that the NCAA will thoroughly investigate the matter and that the findings will be made public once the investigation concludes. He reiterated that, at present, there is no evidence to support the claims of aircraft sales or deregistration.
