Turkish Airlines may have been implicated in illegal
arms shipment activity into Nigeria after a Twitter account behind a string of
leaks in a Turkish corruption scandal released a voice recording suggesting it
had done so.
The airline denied the allegations in a statement
issued yesterday though it said that any shipment of arms or military equipment
was done in accordance with existing rules.
The allegations stemmed from a leaked tape of a
conversation purportedly between an aide of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip
Erdogan and a senior Turkish Airlines employee, Reuters has reported.
“Lots of material is on its way to Nigeria right now.
Is it going to kill Muslims or Christians? I am sinning right now, you should
know,” the voice purportedly of the Turkish Airlines official says.
The voice supposedly of Erdogan’s adviser says he will
look into it.
Turkish government officials have described previous
recordings leaked on social media as a “montage” calculated to undermine the
prime minister
The airline insisted that its carriage of arms and
military supplies are being made on cargo in the framework of the relevant
international law and in strict conformity with the International Air Transport
Association, IATA, transportation rules.
The airline in a statement signed by its media
consultant in Nigeria, Mr. Deba Uwadiae, emphasised that it never carried arms
and ammunition for any terrorist group in Nigeria, saying that in the case of
arms carriage, the forwarders and addressees can send their cargo with the
airline’s cargo through the representative they have designated, after
accomplishing the necessary official approval procedure from the relevant state
authorities.
It added that before carrying arms for any country or
organisation, it does so in agreement with the necessary security measures and
would not in any way support dastardly act in its operations into the country
or anywhere else.
“Turkish Airlines Cargo effectuates such shipment
again in strict conformity with the law and rules of the forwarders’ and
addressees’ countries and by taking necessary security measures as are doing
the other air carriers.
“According to its corporate policy, Turkish Airlines
is not effectuating the carriage of arms to/from the countries that United
Nations Security Council has imposed an arms ban, lacking authority and/or
under conflict.
“This is also the case for the country mentioned on
the news, Turkish Airlines has not effectuated any carriage of arms to that
country from Turkey nor from any country.”
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