Nigerian troops held in Burkina Faso after ‘unfriendly’ emergency landing

Original article by Eromo Egbejule in Abidjan

Eleven Nigerian military personnel are being held in Burkina Faso after a Nigerian plane reportedly entered Burkinabé airspace without authorisation on Monday, the latest twist in a region enmeshed in multiple political and security crises.

In a statement on Monday evening, the breakaway Alliance of Sahel States (AES), of which Burkina Faso is a member alongside Mali and Niger, said the C-130 transport aircraft had made an emergency landing in Bobo Dioulasso.

In the statement, Assimi Goita, the Malian junta president and leader of the AES, called the landing an “unfriendly act carried out in defiance of international law”. He directed the authorities in the member countries to act “to neutralise any aircraft that would violate the confederal space” in future.

On Monday, Nigerian authorities said the aircraft had been en route to Portugal for a ferry mission before “a technical concern which necessitated a precautionary landing”.

“[The] crew is safe and have received cordial treatment from the host authorities,” said Ehimen Ejodame, the Nigerian air force spokesperson who signed the statement. “Plans are ongoing to resume the mission as scheduled.”

The incident unfolded less than 24 hours after Nigeria took part in an intervention in Benin, Burkina Faso’s south-eastern neighbour, after a group of soldiers seized control of the national television station in Cotonou and announced the ousting of the president, Patrice Talon.

Authorities in Benin later said they had foiled the coup attempt and restored order, preventing what would have been the eighth successful coup in west Africa in five years.

A statement from the Nigerian government said its airstrikes –targeting a military base in Cotonou where some of the coup planners were reportedly holed up – happened at the behest of Talon and were in compliance with the protocols of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). Ivorian aircraft were also seen hovering over Beninese airspace during the crisis, pointing to a coordinated response by countries aligned with the regional bloc.

The states that make up the AES broke away from Ecowas, headquartered in Nigeria, after Ecowas threatened military intervention in Niger in 2023 to reinstate the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, after he was ousted in a coup. The AES states accuse Ecowas of breaching territorial integrity and being a puppet of the west and have also drawn closer to Russia.