The Federal Government has officially secured the release of a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft and 11 soldiers who were being detained in Burkina Faso following an emergency forced landing.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the successful resolution of the situation on Wednesday night.
Speaking on the development, the ministry’s spokesperson, Mr. Kimiebi Ebienfa, provided a brief but definitive confirmation, stating:“Yes, they have been released.”
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The breakthrough follows a high-stakes diplomatic mission by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Yusuf Tuggar, who traveled to Ouagadougou on Wednesday to meet with the Burkina Faso junta leader, Mr. Ibrahim Traoré.
The meeting was instrumental in ending the detention of the military personnel and the recovery of the aircraft.
See photos below:
Minister Yusuf Tuggar, leading a Nigerian delegation, clarified during a press briefing that his high-level visit was conducted “at the instance of President Bola Tinubu.”
The diplomatic crisis began approximately two weeks ago when a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) C-130 aircraft, carrying 11 soldiers, was forced to land in Bobo Dioulasso while on a ferry mission to Portugal.
Providing context for the emergency, the NAF Director of Public Relations, Mr. Ehimen Ejodame, explained that the crew detected a technical fault and subsequently performed a“precautionary landing at the nearest airfield, in line with international aviation protocols.”
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Despite the military’s explanation of a technical emergency, the Confederation of Sahel States reacted with significant hostility.
Mr. Assimi Goita, the Mali junta leader acting as the spokesperson for the alliance, condemned the landing.
He described the event as an“unfriendly act carried out in defiance of international law,” Goita further issued a stern warning to Nigeria and other nations, stating that member states were“authorised to neutralise aircraft violating their airspace.”
