The Nigerian Air Force C-130 crew, earlier detained in Burkina Faso and released yesterday, has continued its mission from the country to Portugal with the same aircraft. The crew, comprising 11 Nigerian personnel, was on a mission to Portugal for scheduled aircraft maintenance when it made an emergency landing in Burkina Faso.

The emergency landing, which occurred in Bobo-Dioulasso on December 8, was described as a precautionary measure following a technical issue with the aircraft.

The Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Kimiebi Ebienfa, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the crew resumed its journey to Portugal after engagements between Nigerian and Burkina Faso authorities.

Ebienfa said the release of the crew followed diplomatic interventions by a high-powered Nigerian delegation dispatched to Burkina Faso by President Bola Tinubu. The delegation was led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, and included the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Amb. Mohammed Mohammed; the Chief of Policy and Plans, Nigerian Air Force, Air Vice Marshal A. Y. Abdullahi; Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to ECOWAS, Amb. Olawale Awe; and the Chief of Protocol in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Wahab Akande.

However, speaking to the BBC, Tuggar said Nigeria had formally apologised to Burkina Faso over the incident. The unauthorised landing sparked a diplomatic row with the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) made up of Burkina Faso and its neighbours, Mali, and Niger.

In a statement, AES characterised it as an “unfriendly act” and said member states’ respective air forces had been put on maximum alert and authorised to “neutralise any aircraft” found to violate the confederation’s airspace. The three AES states, all run by the military, have withdrawn from the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, and moved closer to Russia, while most ECOWAS members remain allied to the West.

Tuggar led a delegation to the Burkinabè capital, Ouagadougou, on Wednesday, to discuss the incident with military leader Captain Ibrahim Traoré. “There were irregularities concerning the over flight authorisations, which was regrettable, and we apologise for this unfortunate incident,” Tuggar said on national TV