The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has refused to comment on the
registration status of the private jet that was impounded by the South
African Government on money laundering charges.
When contacted on Wednesday, a Spokesperson for the NCAA, Mr. Sam
Adurogboye, said he didn't have the details on if the jet was
registered.
He said, "I don't have the details. Those who should know are not on
ground." But he refused to give out names.
When contacted, NCAA's General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Fan
Ndubuoke, was indisposed and could not comment on the issue.
However, a top source in the ministry, who did not want to be quoted
because he was not permitted to speak on the issue, said that the
private jet in question was not registered.
The source said, "I can confirm to you that most private jets in the
country are not registered here, they have foreign registerations. The
truth is that when these aircrafts/jets come into the country, the law
does not allow them to land in more than one place until its been
fully registered.
"But I can tell you that its not the case here. The owners refuse to
register them, because they are trying to avoid paying custom duties
on them.
"And so, a lot of these foreign jets come in and fly from place to
place here, but that should not be the case, and the Authorities just
see them and ignore them."
He added that the fact that those jets were not registered in the
country made it difficult for any sanctions to be put on them.
The Chief Executive Officer, Centurion Security and Safety Consult,
Group Capt. John Ojikutu (Retd), told our correspondent that aircrafts
not registered in the country could not be sanctioned by the
government.
He said, "In my opinion, there is nothing much that our country can do
with regards to what is going on especially if the jet/planes are
foreign registered.
"Again, the money that was seen with them was of foreign currency, and
not Nigerian, and we are not sure if the crew is Nigerian, so, we are
at the mercy of the foreign country that arrested them, perhaps, if we
are in good relationship with South Africa, they may release the funds
back to our government."
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