Authorities in Burkina Faso have released 11 Nigerian soldiers and a Nigerian Air Force aircraft, 10 days after the crew was detained following an emergency landing in the Sahel country.
The development was confirmed on Wednesday night by the spokesperson for Nigeria’s ministry of foreign affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, who said the release followed confirmation from Nigeria’s head of mission in Burkina Faso.
“They have been released. I just confirmed with our head of mission in Burkina Faso,” Ebienfa said.
It remained unclear when the soldiers and the aircraft would return to Nigeria, as travel arrangements had yet to be finalised.
The military personnel were detained after a Nigerian Air Force C-130 aircraft made an unscheduled landing in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso on 8 December, shortly after departing Lagos for Portugal. The diversion was prompted by a technical fault detected soon after take-off.
Burkinabe authorities initially held both the aircraft and its crew over what they described as a violation of national airspace, framing the incident as a breach of sovereignty. Investigations by officials of the Confederation of Sahel States and Burkina Faso reportedly concluded that the aircraft had entered Burkinabe airspace without prior authorisation.
The detention prompted several days of diplomatic engagement, culminating in President Bola Tinubu dispatching a special envoy to Ouagadougou to negotiate with the Burkinabe government. Earlier on Wednesday, Nigeria’s minister of foreign affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, was confirmed to be in the Burkinabe capital as the president’s special envoy to facilitate the release.
Ebienfa said Nigeria’s chargé d’affaires in Burkina Faso had been in continuous talks with the host authorities alongside the high-level intervention authorised by the president.
“The chargé d’affaires of the embassy of Nigeria in Burkina Faso has been engaging the host government, and Mr President has also sent a special envoy,” he said earlier. “We are optimistic that the matter will be resolved soonest.”
Throughout the episode, the Nigerian Air Force maintained that the crew was safe and treated courteously during their detention, stressing that the precautionary landing was carried out in line with standard safety procedures and international aviation protocols.
The aircraft was said to be on a ferry mission to Portugal when it encountered the technical issue that forced the diversion to the nearest available airfield.
Concern over the continued detention had also reached Nigeria’s parliament, with the House of Representatives on Tuesday urging intensified diplomatic efforts to secure the release of the soldiers and the aircraft.
