Abuja, December 12, 2025 — Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has confirmed that 11 Nigerian military personnel remain in Burkina Faso following an unexpected emergency landing of a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft earlier this week.
Tuggar made the disclosure on Thursday during a joint press briefing with his Beninese counterpart, Olushegun Bakari, at the ECOWAS Commission headquarters in Abuja, responding to questions about the status of the soldiers who were aboard the aircraft.
The Nigerian Air Force C-130 transport plane was en route to Portugal on Monday when it was forced to divert to Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso’s second-largest city, following a technical issue detected shortly after take-off from Lagos. According to Nigerian authorities, the crew made a precautionary landing in line with international aviation safety protocols.
However, the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) — a bloc consisting of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger — accused the Nigerian aircraft of entering Burkinabe airspace without prior authorisation, describing the unscheduled landing as an “unfriendly act” and a breach of national sovereignty. The AES, led by Mali’s junta leader Assimi Goïta, had earlier asserted that member states were authorised to neutralise any aircraft violating their airspace.
Reports emerged suggesting that Burkinabe authorities initially detained the 11 Nigerian soldiers, including two crew members and nine passengers, and then briefly released them to return to Nigeria. However, Tuggar clarified that the soldiers are still in Burkina Faso as diplomatic discussions continue at high levels to resolve the situation.
Tuggar said talks are ongoing with Burkina Faso’s ruling authorities, led by Ibrahim Traoré, and expressed confidence that the matter would be resolved swiftly through diplomatic engagement. When pressed on whether the soldiers remained in the neighbouring country, Tuggar replied, “Yes, they are.”
Both Nigeria and Benin have emphasised that the emergency landing incident is unrelated to Nigeria’s military support for Benin following a recent coup attempt there. Benin’s foreign minister reiterated that the aircraft situation had “nothing to do” with Nigeria’s intervention in preventing the coup, a position Tuggar affirmed.
The development comes amid tense regional dynamics in West Africa, where shifting alliances and security challenges continue to test diplomatic relations among countries in the Sahel and the wider Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
This is an ongoing story; updates may follow as diplomatic efforts progress.
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