Burkina Faso has released the eleven Nigerian military officers detained after their Nigerian Air Force C-130 aircraft made what authorities called an “unauthorised” landing in Bobo-Dioulasso on Monday. According to Business Insider Africa, the officers were cleared to return home after Burkinabè officials completed preliminary checks amid suspicion linked to Nigeria’s intervention in the Benin coup attempt.
While the Nigerian Air Force maintained the aircraft was headed to Portugal on a ferry mission and diverted due to a technical fault, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES)—Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger—described the landing as a violation of their airspace and accused Nigeria of hostile intent. Burkina Faso’s Territorial Administration Minister, Emile Zerbo, said the plane disregarded national procedures, prompting the intervention of security agencies.
Although the crew has been released, AES raised its alert level and ordered its air-defence units to neutralise any future unauthorised aircraft, heightening already strained regional relations.
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