ABUJA, June 22 (Reuters) - Nigeria has refused to release seven Ukrainian crew members and a plane full of weapons and ammunition despite Equatorial Guinea's government saying the cargo belongs to it, a diplomatic source said.
Nigerian security officials last Wednesday detained the
Ukrainian cargo plane bound for Equatorial Guinea after it
stopped to refuel in northern Nigeria’s Kano airport and a
routine search discovered the arms.
“Equatorial Guinea has confirmed this is their cargo and
owned by the government,” the diplomat in Nigeria’s capital
Abuja, who wished not to be identified, said on Monday.
“I don’t know why Nigeria has not yet released the crew and
the cargo.”
The seven crew members were being detained at a military
airport base in Kano and were in good physical condition, the
diplomat said.
The source said Ukrainian diplomats had met with Nigeria’s
foreign ministry, air force intelligence service and national
security adviser in the last few days. But there was no
indication when the situation might be resolved.
Nigerian police have confirmed that an aircraft had been
detained but gave no details on its origin or destination.
(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the
top issues, visit: http://af.reuters.com/)
(Reporting by Randy Fabi; Editing by Nick Tattersall and
Michael Roddy)
