By Kingston Magare 9.12.2025
The Alliance of Sahel States of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso under military rule have threatened to take action against Nigeria after a Nigeria Air Force C-130 plane made an emergency landig in Burkina Faso.
According to Nigeria Air Force spokesperson Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame the aircraft which was on a mission to Portugal developed technical hitches and in according to international aviation protocals made an emergency landing in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, the nearest airfield.
“NAF crew is safe and have received cordial treatment from the host authorities.”
But the Sahel States which broke away from the ECOWAS in January 2025, viewed the aircraft with 11 Nigerian military personal on board an act of intrusion into their airspace. In a joint statement they vowed to ‘neutralise any aircraft’ violating their airspace.
“An aircraft belonging to the Air Force of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, type C-130, was forced to land Monday in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, following an in-flight emergency situation while it was operating in Burkinabe airspace,” according to an Alliance statement read on state media in the three west African countries.
The statement called the landing an “unfriendly act” and said the countries’ respective air forces had been put on maximum alert and authorised to “neutralise any aircraft” found to violate the confederation’s airspace.
On Sunday the Nigeria Air Force played a part in the thwarting of a coup attempt in Benin Republic.