Nigeria’s Ministry of Defence has confirmed the successful release of eleven Nigerian Air Force personnel who were detained in Burkina Faso after their C-130 Hercules transport aircraft made an emergency landing in the West African nation on Sunday.
The aircraft, registered NAF 917 and carrying routine maintenance personnel, was en route from Abuja to Beja Air Base in Portugal when it encountered technical difficulties.
The crew diverted to Bobo-Dioulasso International Airport, Burkina Faso’s second-largest city, and landed without prior diplomatic clearance – a protocol breach that prompted Burkinabè authorities to temporarily hold the eleven-member team for questioning.
Sources close to the matter told Sahara Reporters and the BBC that the incident initially raised security concerns in Ouagadougou, given the current regional tensions and Burkina Faso’s heightened vigilance against perceived foreign military overflights since the 2022 coup that brought Captain Ibrahim Traoré to power.
Following swift diplomatic engagement between Abuja and Ouagadougou, including direct communication at ministerial and military levels, all eleven officers and airmen were released into Nigerian custody on Monday evening.
The C-130 aircraft was also cleared for departure after technical inspections.
A brief statement from the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked the Burkinabè government “for the professional and brotherly manner in which the matter was handled,” emphasising that the incident was purely technical and unintentional.
Relations between Nigeria and Burkina Faso have remained cordial despite the latter’s pivot toward new security partnerships in recent years.
The rapid resolution underscores ongoing military and diplomatic cooperation between the two ECOWAS member states.
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The aircraft and crew are expected to continue their journey to Portugal in the coming days. No further details on the nature of the technical fault have been disclosed.
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