By Barth Ikiebe
Burkina Faso has set free 11 Nigerian military personnel detained following the unscheduled landing of a Nigerian AirForce C-130 aircraft at Bobo-Dioulasso airfield, a move the country declared as unauthorised.
The Nigerian military officers, comprising two crew members and nine passengers, were held for questioning amid suspicions that the flight might be connected to the recent failed coup in Benin Republic.
But they have since been cleared of any wrongdoing and allowed to return 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.
However, in a joint declaration, the military governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, who are members of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), declared the incident a breach of sovereign airspace and an “unfriendly act.”
The AES bloc added that the episode had placed their airforces on high alert.
But the Nigerian AirForce stressed that the crew followed international aviation safety procedures, highlighting that its personnel were treated respectfully during the detention.
The development has however increased tension in the already fragile relations between Nigeria and the AES, which recently announced its withdrawal from ECOWAS.
