ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) - A Ukrainian cargo plane loaded with arms bound for Equatorial Guinea has been detained in Nigeria while authorities investigate, police said Friday.
The company that owns the grounded Antonov-12 said it had broken no laws in carrying weapons to oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, which has been ruled by strongman President Teodoro Obiang since a 1979 coup.
“There were all permits for this flight, including from Nigeria’s authorities. There were absolutely no violations concerning the plane, cargo or the documents,” Meridian director Nikolai Minyailo was quoted by Russia’s ITAR-Tass news agency as saying late Thursday.
Nigerian security agents detained the aircraft and seven crew members after they landed Wednesday in the northern city of Kano to refuel, police spokesman Emmanuel Ojukwu said. The crew members were in police custody, while their passports have been confiscated, he said.
Minyailo said the cargo did not belong to Ukraine, but he gave no other details.
Russia’s Interfax news agency cited Ukrainian media as reporting the plane was transporting 60-mm and 82-mm mortar rounds under a contract between Infora Limited, a company registered in Nicosia, Cyprus, and the Equatorial Guinean Defense Ministry.
The fligиt had originated in Zagreb, Croatia, and was bound for Equatorial Guinea’s capital of Malabo.
