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By Myke Agunwa
The government of Burkina Faso has released 11 Nigerian Air Force (NAF) personnel and their C-130 aircraft, ending a nearly two-week of diplomatic standoff triggered by the plane’s emergency landing in the country.
The incident began earlier in December when the NAF C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, en route Portugal for maintenance, developed a technical fault and made a precautionary landing at Bobo-Dioulasso Airport, Burkina Faso’s second-largest city and the nearest suitable airfield.
Nigeria maintained that the landing complied fully with international aviation safety protocols and standard procedures.
But authorities in Burkina Faso and the Confederation of Sahel States (AES), comprising Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, viewed the entry into their airspace without prior clearance as a sovereignty violation and an “unfriendly act.”
However, the resolution followed high-level talks on Wednesday in Ouagadougou, where a Nigerian delegation led by Foreign Affairs Minister Yusuf Tuggar met with Burkina Faso leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré.
In a statement issued by Alkasim Abdulkadir, spokesperson for Tuggar, the two sides “amicably resolved” the issue surrounding the NAF pilots and crew. Tuggar delivered a personal message of solidarity and fraternity from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Traoré.
Discussions focused on deepening bilateral ties, enhancing political, security, and economic cooperation, and addressing shared regional challenges through existing sub-regional frameworks.
“Both sides agreed to sustain regular consultations and pursue practical measures to deepen bilateral cooperation and regional integration, reflecting a shared resolve to promote peace, unity, and stability in the sub-region,” Abdulkadir said.
The Nigerian delegation included Mohammed Mohammed, Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA); Air Vice Marshal A.Y. Abdullahi, Chief of Policy and Plans at NAF Headquarters; Olawale Awe, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to ECOWAS; and Wahab Akande, Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.