A potentially diplomatic spat between Nigeria and Burkina Faso ended amicably Tuesday evening after the Burkinabe authorities released the 11 Nigerian military officers they had detained after their Air Force transport aircraft made an unauthorised landing in the country.
Burkinabè security officials told the BBC the officers were released after initial questioning and permitted to depart.
They said the airforce officers were cleared to leave t after Burkinabè authorities completed initial checks and were cleared of their suspicions that the officers had been involved in the operation to foil a coup plot in Benin.
The personnel were aboard a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) C-130 that Abuja described as making a “technical emergency landing” on Monday in the western city of Bobo-Dioulasso while en route to Portugal. Burkinabè authorities, however, said the aircraft had entered their airspace without clearance.
Burkina Faso territorial administration minister, Emile Zerbo, told journalists the plane violated national procedures when it flew into Burkina Faso “without authorisation,” prompting security agencies to intervene.
In a joint statement, the military governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger: the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), later said their investigation confirmed a “violation of its airspace and the sovereignty of its member states.”
The AES labelled the incident an “unfriendly act” and said its air forces had been placed on maximum alert, with orders to “neutralise any aircraft” that breached the confederation’s airspace.
According to the bloc, the aircraft carried two crew members and nine military passengers. Burkinabè security officials told the BBC the officers were released after initial questioning and permitted to depart.
The Nigerian Air Force however said in a statement that a technical fault forced the crew to divert to the nearest available airfield “in accordance with international aviation safety procedures.”
It added that the personnel were “safe and have received cordial treatment from the host authorities,” without directly confirming reports that they had been detained.
