A Ukrainian cargo plane suspected to
be carrying military hardware has been detained in Kano, security and aviation
sources said yesterday.
The sources, who declined to be
mentioned, said the cargo plane landed at the Malam Aminu Kano International
Airport on Saturday night and was immediately grounded by the military
authorities who could not confirm the actual destination or owners of the
cargo.
An aviation official disclosed that
the plane was currently parked on the airport tarmac, where investigation will
be thoroughly carried out by Nigerian security operatives.
The aviation source said a search
was conducted on the cargo plane on Saturday night and the tarmac where it was
being parked had been cordoned off by security operatives.
The Nigerian aviation authorities
are yet to officially address the media.
It would be recalled that a cargo
plane fully loaded with arms and ammunition was intercepted by security
operatives at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano,on June 18,
2009. The plane and its four crew members were detained at the Nigeria Air
Force wing of the airport.
Sources said there were eight heavy
crates of various weapons and ammunition on board the plane thought to include
rifles, machine guns, rocket launchers, mortars and howitzers.
It was also gathered that the plane,
which arrived in Nigeria from the former Soviet republic of the Ukraine, was
allegedly heading for the West African country of Guinea-Bissau, and it stopped
over in Kano at about 4am to refuel.
Nigeria’s security situation has
improved-- Abdulsalami
Meanwhile, former head of state Gen
Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) has disclosed that the security situation in the
country has improved in the past one year.
Abdulsalami stated this yesterday in
Jos during a chat with newsmen shortly after paying a condolence
visit to the former deputy governor of Plateau State, Dame Pauline Tallen
, who lost her father Pa Paul Kattien, at her residence in
Rayfield, Jos.
He called on citizens of
the country to learn to live and stay peacefully with one another, stressing
that no country thrives in an atmosphere of rancor.
Abdulsalami also
appealed to security operatives to live up to their expectations and urged
citizens of the country to be security-conscious and report perpetrators
of violence to the appropriate authorities.
On the political situation in the
country Abdulsalami said politics in the country has come a long way and would
improve if the stakeholders played the game with sincerity.
Source: Leadership
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