Russia has said that the arms and ammunition being conveyed by a plane that was seized at the Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, on Saturday belonged to the French peace-keeping mission in Chad.
The Russian Embassy in Abuja, which said this on its Twitter handle on Sunday, explained that the seized aircraft had been chartered to transport the military equipment and that the crew members were not Russians.
The embassy also denied that the plane was Russian.
The Antonov Cargo Aircraft, carrying some attack helicopters and containers and arms and ammunition, was impounded by security personnel at the Kano airport on Saturday.
The embassy said it was taking all measures to ensure the departure of the plane with its military cargo.
The series of tweets from the embassy were in Russian but were translated to English.
It read, “Military equipment on board aircraft in Kano en route from the Central African Republic in Chad, allegedly owned by the French peacekeeping mission.
“The plane was chartered by the French peacekeeping mission in Chad and transporting its property.
“The Embassy is taking all measures to ensure the departure of the plane with the French military equipment on board.”
A senior security source said on Sunday that the Federal Government investigation into the mystery cargo plane would not be affected by the denial of the Russian government that the plane did not emanate from the country.
The source said that the military would ensure that the investigation into the impounded plane, its cargo and crew, was thoroughly carried out because of the diplomatic implications of the issue.
The source said, “We must ascertain where the plane took off from, its destination, its crew, why it landed in Nigeria, what it was carrying and why it was carrying what it was carrying.
“All these are things we need to know before we come out with a final statement to give to Nigerians on this sensitive issue.
“There must be a holistic investigation into the issue because it has diplomatic implications just like our incident in South Africa so we have to be careful in the investigation.”
Meanwhile, the Defence authorities have said in a statement that Nigerians would be briefed after the conclusion of the investigation into the issue.
The Deputy Director, Defence Information, Group Captain W.W. Maigida, in a statement on Sunday, said that the military had already commenced investigation into the impounded aircraft.
“An Antonov Cargo Aircraft carrying some military hardware was arrested at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in the early hours of Saturday, December 6, 2014.
“Investigation is ongoing to determine the content and origin of the aircraft. Further details would be made as soon as the investigation is completed,” Maigida said.
The Foreign Affairs ministry could not be reached for comment on Sunday, as its spokesman, Ahmedu Ogbole-Ode, did not respond to calls to his phone. Meanwhile, France has admitted ownership of the seized cargo plane. It said that the flight was covered by a diplomatic clearance given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja, noting that the Autonov 124 Russian commercial plane was forced to land at the Kano airport because of dense air traffic at Ndjamena airport, Chad.
A statement from the French Ambassador to Nigeria, Jacques Champagne de Labriolle, on Sunday, stated that the Antonov plane had to divert to an alternate international airport and the closest airport facility being Kano, the Russian crew decided to fly there to refuel and to take off again for Njamena.
He denied that the plane was carrying arms and ammunition, stressing that it was conveying two light Gazelle helicopters, spare parts and maintenance items belonging to the French Army.
Labriolle further explained that due to the nationality of the aircraft and the nature of the cargo, airport authorities in Kano decided to check the flight plan, the clearance and the cargo manifest before authorising the plane to leave.
He said that official information had been supplied by the French Embassy in Nigeria, noting that the federal and airport authorities, being satisfied with the documents and the genuine character of the flight, had announced that the plane would be authorised to pursue its flight to Ndjamena.
The envoy stated that the French Armed Forces had on December 6, 2014, chartered the flight on the Russian commercial company “224 Flight Unit”, to ship two light helicopters from Bangui to Ndjamena.
He explained that the shipment was organised as the size of the French military intervention in CAR is being reduced, as was earlier announced by the French Authorities.
Labriolle said, “The cargo airplane, an Antonov 124, had a regular flight plan from Bangui to Ndjamena; the flight was covered by a diplomatic clearance given by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The freight consisted of 2 “Gazelle’’ helicopters (a 4-seater light liaison helicopter) with spare-parts and maintenance items. 2 French military non-commissioned officers escorted the equipment as passengers.”
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