By Adesina Soyooye
In an unprecedented incident which signals unfriendliness, the Government of Burkina Faso has forced a Nigerian Air Force Jet to land in its Country and detained all its passengers – 11 Nigerian Soldiers for violating its airspace without authorisation.
The incident happened on Monday and was reported by the Agence d’information du Burkina, the State-run news agency, from a statement issued by the Confederation of Sahel States, AES.
AES is made up of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger Republic, all under Military regime. The three countries pulled out of the Economic Council of West African States, ECOWAS, in the wave of Military Coup D’etats which swept through them and which was condemned by ECOWAS. At the time they pulled out, Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu, was the Chairman of ECOWAS. The relationship between the two bodies has been untidy.
It is not known why the Nigerian Military Aircraft strayed into Burkina Faso’s airspace, but recall that NAF jets were sent into the Benin Republic on Sunday to quash a Coup d’etat aimed at overthrowing the Government by targeting the Coupists. It is yet to be ascertained if the detained NAF Jet was one of those sent on that mission. But the statement, issued in French language by the Head of AES, who is, also, the Head of Mali’s Military Junta, General Assimi Goita, and translated to English reads:
“The Confederation of Sahel States informs the public that a C130 Aircraft belonging to the Air Force of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was forced to land today December 8, 2025, in Bobo Dioulasso Burkina Faso following an in-flight emergency while operating in Burkinabe airspace. The Military Aircraft had two (2) crew members and nine (9) passengers on board, all military personnel.”
An investigation, according to the statement, “highlighted the absence of authorisation to fly over the territory of Burkina Faso for this military device.
The statement also said that the AES sees the incident as a violation of sovereignty and added that it “condemns with the utmost firmness this violation of its airspace and the sovereignty of its member state.”
The association warned that “Air and anti-aircraft defences of the Confedrate space has been put on maximum alert and authorised to neutralise any Aircraft that would violate the Confedrate space.”
Neither the Nigerian Government nor the Nigerian Military has issued any statement om this seemingly embarrassing incident.
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