The Nigerian military has intercepted a Russian plane loaded with large amount of arms and ammunition, bound for neighbouring Chad.
The plane was seized early Saturday at the Aminu Kano International Airport.
The aircraft, which was headed for N’djamena, the capital of Chad, landed in Kano at about 2a.m. Nigerian time, the source said.
All crew members of the aircraft have been detained by Nigerian forces.
An air force spokesman confirmed the plane had been detained but gave no further details.
The Defence Headquarters has however confirmed the development on its twitter handle [@DefenceInfoNG].
“An Antonov Cargo aircraft carrying some military hardware was arrested at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in the early hours of Saturday 6th Dec. 2014,” the military tweeted.
“Investigation is ongoing to determine the content and origin of the aircraft. Further details will be made as soon as the investigation is completed.”
The plane had been travelling from Bangui, the capital of Central African Republic, to the Chadian capital N’Djamena but was forced to make an emergency landing in Kano because N’Djamena airport was closed, the security source said.
He said after the five crew members were detained, inspectors found two helicopters, a bullet-proof jeep and boxes of what were suspected to be military hardware.
The Russian embassy in Abuja did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It was not clear what the shipment was for. Chadian fighters have been involved in Central African Republic’s conflict since Muslim Seleka rebels seized the southern capital Bangui in 2013.
Mysterious arms shipments have caused controversy in Nigeria before. A Nigerian court sentenced an alleged member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and a Nigerian accomplice to five years in prison in May last year over an illegal shipment of mortars and rockets seized in the main port of Lagos in 2010.
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