The Nigerian military has released the detained
Russian cargo plane which they seized saturday
morning after France admitted ownership of the
aircraft.
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 to reach Njamena Airport.
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 authorizing the plane to
leave.
Source: Sahara Reporters
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