The 11 Nigerian military personnel who were detained in Burkina Faso following the unscheduled landing of a Nigerian Air Force C-130 aircraft at Bobo-Dioulasso airfield a move Ouagadougou authorities described as unauthorised have been freed.
The group, consisting of two crew members and nine passengers, was held for questioning amid suspicions that the flight might be connected to the recent failed coup in Benin Republic.
They have since been cleared of any wrongdoing and returned safely to Nigeria.
While Nigerian authorities maintained that the aircraft made a technical emergency landing on its way to Portugal, Burkinabe officials insisted the plane entered their airspace without prior authorisation, triggering an immediate security response.
Burkina Faso’s Minister of Territorial Administration, Emile Zerbo, said authorities were acting strictly in accordance with national security protocols.
In a joint declaration, the military governments of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, members of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), called the incident a breach of sovereign airspace and described it as an “unfriendly act.”
The bloc added that the episode had placed their air forces on high alert.
The Nigerian Air Force, meanwhile, emphasized that the crew followed international aviation safety procedures and highlighted that its personnel were treated respectfully during the detention.
The episode adds another layer of tension to the already fragile relations between Nigeria and the AES, which recently announced its withdrawal from ECOWAS.
