By KUNA,
United Nations : A UN panel of experts will visit Nigeria later this month to inspect the Iranian arms shipment intercepted by the Nigerian authorities last October, Nigerian Ambassador to the UN Joy Ogwu told KUNA.
The team will be briefed by government officials on the findings of their investigation, Ogwu said late Thursday.
The experts “will visit Lagos and Abuja and meet with the relevant authorities. Part of their mandate is to inspect the weapons seized. They will later write their report to the Security Council’s Sanctions committee on Iran about their findings,” she said.
The eight-member panel will arrive in Nigeria on January 18th. It will convey its final report directly to the committee, she added.
Nigeria sent a letter to the committee late last year informing the members that its authorities intercepted last October Iranian weapons hidden among building materials on a ship docked at its port in Lagos.
The panel was established by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon late last year to monitor violations of the sanctions regime on Iran because of its controversial nuclear program.
Under the terms of Security Council resolutions, Iran is prohibited from buying or selling weapons.
The panel includes experts from the Council’s permanent members, the Unites States, the United Kingdom, France (panel coordinator), Russia, China, Germany, Japan, and Nigeria.