Burkina Faso Detains Nigerian Plane and Arrests 11 Officers

SadaNews - The military authorities in Burkina Faso announced that they forced a Nigerian military transport plane to land in the city of Bobo Dioulasso, and arrested 11 members of the Nigerian army who were on board, after entering the country’s airspace without prior permission.

The Confederation of Sahel States, which includes Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger and is run by military councils, stated in a statement issued on Monday evening that the aircraft, a C-130 belonging to the Nigerian Air Force, was forced to make an emergency landing on December 8, 2025, while it was flying within Burkinabe airspace.

The authorities clarified that the plane was carrying a crew of two in addition to nine passengers, all of whom were Nigerian military personnel.

These individuals were detained immediately upon landing, and they are currently under investigation by the relevant authorities.

The statement confirmed that the aircraft did not obtain any prior authorization to fly over Burkina Faso, which was considered a violation of national sovereignty.

Position of the Sahel Countries

For its part, the tripartite military alliance deemed the incident "a flagrant violation of its sovereignty," and announced the mobilization of its forces to the highest state of alert to respond to any potential external threats.

It also indicated that the air defense systems in the three countries were placed on the highest alert level, with a mandate "to deal with any aircraft violating the confederate airspace."

The Confederation emphasized that these measures are in implementation of previous decisions made by the heads of state, who stressed the necessity of protecting airspace and ensuring the safety of citizens.

Background and Context

This incident comes amid rising tensions between Nigeria and the three Sahel countries since their military alliance was formed in 2023, following coups that ousted elected governments in Ouagadougou, Niamey, and Bamako.

Nigeria, being the largest regional power in West Africa and a prominent member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), has been one of the strongest opponents of military coups, imposing sanctions on these countries.

Observers believe that the plane incident may intensify disagreements between the two parties, especially with the Sahel countries declaring their readiness "to confront any aerial threat" in the future, reflecting the level of regional tension and the possibilities of military or political escalation between two camps with differing visions and legitimacy.