Burkina Faso grounds Nigerian aircraft, detains military personnel over airspace violations

The Government of Burkina Faso said a Nigerian Air Force aircraft carrying 11 soldiers was forced to land in the country on Monday after reportedly violating its airspace.

The development was reported by the Agence d’Information du Burkina, the state-run news agency, which published a statement from the Confederation of Sahel States.

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The statement, translated from French, read, “The Confederation of Sahel States informs the public that a C130 aircraft belonging to the Air Force of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was forced to land today, December 8, 2025, in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, following an in-flight emergency while operating in Burkinabe airspace. The military aircraft had two (2) crew members and nine (9) passengers on board, all military personnel.”

The statement added that an investigation by Burkinabe authorities “highlighted the absence of authorisation to fly over the territory of Burkina Faso for this military device.”

The AES condemned the incident as a violation of sovereignty, saying it “condemns with the utmost firmness this violation of its airspace and the sovereignty of its member States.”

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The body warned that “air and anti-aircraft defences of the Confederate space put on maximum alert…were authorised to neutralise any aircraft that would violate the Confederate space.”

No official comment has yet come from the Nigerian Air Force or the Federal Government.

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