The Nigerian Air Force C-130 crew, earlier detained in Burkina Faso and released on Thursday, 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, 2025, was described as a precautionary measure following a technical issue with the aircraft.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, told the News Agency of Nigeria that the plane and the crew are scheduled to continue to Portugal for maintenance, as planned before the incident.
“They are not coming to Nigeria, but proceeding to Portugal for the servicing of the aircraft. Will leave for Portugal today,” he said.
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, Yusuf Tuggar, and included the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador 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.
Recall that Burkina Faso, on Wednesday, released a Nigerian Air Force aircraft and 11 personnel.
The NAF C-130 aircraft carrying 11 personnel on a ferry mission to Portugal made a force landing in Bobo Dioulasso following technical issues two weeks ago.
NAF Director of Public Relations, Ehimen Ejodame, said the crew landed at the nearest airfield for safety in line with international aviation protocols.
But, the Mali junta leader, Assimi Goita, speaking for the Confederation of Sahel States, described the precautionary landing as an “unfriendly act carried out in defiance of international law.”
Goita warned that members of the Sahel States would neutralise an aircraft violating their airspace.
However, the Nigerian government confirmed the release of the aircraft and 11 personnel.
Their release followed a meeting between a delegation of the Nigerian government led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Burkina Faso junta leader, Ibrahim Traoré, in Ouagadougou.
Tuggar, who led a Nigerian delegation at the instance of President Bola Tinubu, briefed journalists on the outcome.
Confirming the development to reporters on Wednesday night, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said: “Yes, they have been released.”
(NAN)
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