Burkina Faso has released Nigerian soldiers who were detained after their aircraft made a forced landing in the Sahelian country earlier this month, Nigerian officials said.
The release followed a diplomatic intervention by President Bola Tinubu, who dispatched a high-level delegation led by Nigeria’s minister of foreign affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, to meet Burkina Faso’s military leader, Ibrahim Traoré, on Wednesday.
In a statement by Tuggar’s spokesperson, Alkasim Abdulkadir, he said both sides resolved the matter amicably and secured the release of the Nigerian Air Force pilots and crew.
The soldiers had been held for nearly two weeks after the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) described the aircraft’s landing as an ‘unfriendly act’ carried out in defiance of international law.
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), however, said the crew encountered a technical issue that required a precautionary landing in Bobo-Dioulasso, the nearest available airfield. It said the landing complied with standard safety procedures and international aviation protocols.
There were unconfirmed reports last week that the soldiers had been freed, but Tuggar said at the time that the personnel were still in Burkina Faso and that diplomatic efforts were ongoing.
Talks leading to their release were held on Wednesday in Ouagadougou.
According to Abdulkadir, Tuggar conveyed a message of solidarity and fraternity from President Tinubu to Traoré, while discussions also focused on strengthening bilateral relations and regional cooperation.
The talks covered political, security and economic collaboration, with an emphasis on joint responses to regional security challenges and cooperation within existing sub-regional frameworks.
‘Both sides agreed to sustain regular consultations and pursue practical measures to deepen bilateral cooperation and regional integration, reflecting a shared resolve to promote peace, unity and stability in the sub-region’, the statement said.
Members of the Nigerian delegation included Mohammed Mohammed, director-general of the National Intelligence Agency; A. Y. Abdullahi, chief of policy and plans at the Nigerian Air Force; Olawale Awe, Nigeria’s permanent representative to the Economic Community of West African States; and Wahab Akande, chief of protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
