A Russian cargo plane that Nigerian authorities detained on Saturday had no weapons on it but was carrying two French army helicopters out of Central African Republic, the French ambassador said on Monday.
The Antonov 124 had been travelling from Bangui to the Chadian capital N'Djamena but made an emergency landing in Kano because of traffic congestion at N'Djamena airport, the statement from Jacques Champagne de Labriolle said, adding that Kano was the "closest airport facility".
The plane was allowed to take off from Kano on Monday evening, the Russian embassy in Nigeria said on its official Twitter account.