Burkina Faso has finally granted freedom to the 11 Nigerian soldiers who were detained after a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft made an emergency landing in the Sahelian country, following high-level diplomatic intervention by President Bola Tinubu.
The soldiers, comprising NAF pilots and crew members, regained their freedom after Tinubu sent a delegation led by Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, to Ouagadougou on Wednesday for talks with Burkina Faso’s military ruler, Captain Ibrahim Traoré.
Join our WhatsApp community
According to a statement released by the foreign affairs minister’s spokesperson, Alkasim Abdulkadir, the Nigerian and Burkinabè authorities reached a peaceful resolution about the detained air force members who had been arrested for almost two weeks.
Diplomatic tensions between Abuja and the Sahelian bloc increased as a result of the imprisonment, which came after the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) made harsh accusations that the aircraft’s landing was an unfriendly act committed in violation of international law.
The Nigerian Air Force, however, refuted the assertion, claiming that the aircraft experienced a technical malfunction in midair, necessitating the crew’s precautionary landing in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, which was determined to be the closest appropriate airfield.
The NAF claims that the decision was made entirely in accordance with established safety procedures and international aviation norms.
However, Wednesday’s closed-door talks between Nigerian and Burkinabè officials were held in Ouagadougou, where Tuggar reportedly conveyed a message of “solidarity and fraternity” from President Tinubu to Traoré.
In the face of growing insecurity throughout the Sahel, Abdulkadir stated the talks went beyond the current conflict and concentrated on enhancing political, security, and economic cooperation between the two nations.
Join our WhatsApp community
He claims that coordinated responses to regional security issues and collective action through pre-existing sub-regional frameworks were given special attention at the talks.
Among the Nigerian delegation to Burkina Faso were; Mohammed Mohammed, Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA); Air Vice Marshal A.Y. Abdullahi, Chief of Policy and Plans at the NAF; Ambassador Olawale Awe, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); and Wahab Akande, Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Join Our Social Media Channels:
WhatsApp: NaijaEyes
Facebook: NaijaEyes
Twitter: NaijaEyes
Instagram: NaijaEyes
TikTok: NaijaEyes
