In an official statement released Tuesday, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, explained that the aircraft had taken off from Lagos on a routine ferry mission to Portugal for scheduled maintenance when the crew detected a technical fault shortly after departure. Following international aviation safety protocols, the pilots diverted to the nearest suitable airfield — Bobo-Dioulasso International Airport in western Burkina Faso.
“The crew is safe and has received cordial treatment from the host authorities,” the statement read. “Plans are ongoing to resume the mission as scheduled. The Nigerian Air Force appreciates the support received during this period and assures the public that NAF remains professionally committed to strict compliance with operational procedures and safety standards.”
The aircraft carried two pilots and nine other Nigerian military personnel — a total of eleven service members — none of whom were armed or on a combat mission.
Burkina Faso’s military authorities, however, initially described the incident in harsher terms, calling the entry “illegal” and an “unfriendly act” that violated civil and military aviation regulations. The Alliance of Sahel States (AES) — the junta-led confederation of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger — issued a joint communiqué late Monday stating that the aircraft had entered Burkinabè airspace without prior diplomatic clearance or flight authorisation. Burkinabè air defences reportedly intercepted the plane and forced it to land, after which the crew was briefly detained and the aircraft impounded pending investigation.
Tensions between Nigeria and the three AES countries have been running high since the juntas withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in January 2025 and formed their own alliance. The incident occurred just 24 hours after Nigerian forces played a decisive role in crushing an attempted coup in neighbouring Benin on December 7 — an intervention that was warmly welcomed by Benin’s government but viewed with deep suspicion by the AES leadership, who accused Nigeria of acting as a proxy for “foreign interests.”
Analysts note that the timing and flight path have fueled conspiracy theories within AES circles, with some officials privately suggesting the C-130 may have been conducting reconnaissance linked to the Benin operation. Nigerian authorities have dismissed such claims as baseless, pointing out that a direct ferry route from Lagos to Portugal can legitimately pass near or over parts of the Sahel depending on weather, air-traffic routing, and the location of alternate airfields.
Under International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rules, crews facing in-flight emergencies are explicitly permitted — and in fact required — to divert to the nearest suitable airport without prior clearance if safety is at risk. Aviation experts have described Burkina Faso’s initial detention of the crew as disproportionate, though they acknowledge that heightened regional paranoia and the lack of functioning diplomatic channels between Abuja and the AES capitals made a rapid, calm resolution more difficult.
By Tuesday afternoon, Burkinabè authorities had released the eleven Nigerian personnel and granted technicians access to the aircraft to assess and repair the fault. No formal charges were filed, and both sides have since adopted more conciliatory language, with Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Defence stating that the matter is being handled “in a spirit of African brotherhood.”
The episode nonetheless underscores the fragility of civil-military aviation coordination in a region now split between ECOWAS and the breakaway AES bloc. Since the juntas’ withdrawal from ECOWAS, overflight agreements, search-and-rescue protocols, and military-to-military hotlines that once existed between Nigeria and its northern neighbours have largely collapsed.
On social media, Nigerians largely praised the NAF’s measured response and professionalism, while users in AES countries expressed lingering distrust, with some calling for stronger air-defence measures against “provocative” flights.
As repairs continue on the ground in Bobo-Dioulasso, diplomatic efforts are quietly underway to prevent similar incidents from escalating into a broader confrontation. For now, the Nigerian crew remains in Burkina Faso under what both governments describe as comfortable conditions, awaiting clearance to complete their journey to Portugal.
