Burkina Faso Releases Detained Nigerian Air Force Crew After Tinubu’s Envoy Meets Junta Leader Traoré

Burkina Faso Releases Detained Nigerian Air Force Crew After Tinubu’s Envoy Meets Junta Leader Traoré

Burkina Faso has released Nigerian Air Force personnel who were detained after a Nigerian military aircraft made a forced landing in the West African country, following diplomatic intervention by President Bola Tinubu.

The freed personnel, made up of pilots and crew members of the Nigerian Air Force, were released after President Tinubu sent a high-powered delegation led by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, to Ouagadougou for talks with Burkina Faso’s military leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré.

According to a statement issued by Alkasim Abdulkadir, spokesperson to the foreign affairs minister, the Nigerian and Burkinabè authorities resolved the matter amicably, bringing an end to the detention of the air force crew, who had been held for nearly two weeks.

The incident had sparked diplomatic tension after the Confederation of Sahel States accused Nigeria of carrying out an unfriendly act, alleging that the aircraft’s landing violated international law.

However, the Nigerian Air Force rejected the allegation, explaining that the aircraft developed a technical fault mid-flight and was forced to make a precautionary landing in Bobo-Dioulasso, identified as the nearest suitable airfield. The NAF maintained that the decision was taken in accordance with international aviation standards and safety protocols.

During closed-door discussions in Ouagadougou on Wednesday, Tuggar reportedly delivered a message of “solidarity and fraternity” from President Tinubu to Traoré.

Abdulkadir said the talks went beyond the immediate issue of the detained personnel, covering broader political, security and economic cooperation between Nigeria and Burkina Faso amid growing insecurity across the Sahel region.

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He noted that both sides emphasised the need for coordinated responses to shared security challenges and collective action 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.

Members of the Nigerian delegation included Mohammed Mohammed, Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency; Air Vice Marshal A.Y. Abdullahi, Chief of Policy and Plans at the Nigerian Air Force; Ambassador Olawale Awe, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to ECOWAS; and Wahab Akande, Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The release of the detained air force personnel appears to have defused what could have escalated into a major diplomatic crisis, at a time when relations between ECOWAS member states and the Sahelian bloc remain fragile.