The military junta in Burkina Faso has detained 11 Nigerian soldiers and seized a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) C-130 transport aircraft after it was allegedly forced to make an emergency landing in the country on Monday, December 8, 2025.
The incident was confirmed in a strongly worded statement issued late Monday by the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), the military confederation comprising Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger.
The AES condemned the incursion as a violation of its airspace and national sovereignty.
The AES communiqué, reportedly signed by Malian junta leader General Assimi Goïta, stated that the NAF aircraft, identified as a C-130 Hercules, was forced to land at the airport in Bobo Dioulasso following an “in-flight emergency situation” while operating in Burkinabe airspace.
The aircraft was carrying two crew members and nine passengers, all of whom were confirmed to be members of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
The statement confirmed that all eleven Nigerian military personnel are currently being detained by Burkinabe authorities as part of an ongoing investigation.
Burkinabe authorities immediately launched an investigation which, according to the AES, revealed the aircraft “did not have authorization to fly over Burkinabe territory.”
The AES described the unauthorized entry as an “unfriendly act carried out in disregard of international law and international civil and/or military aviation regulations.”
The timing of the incident immediately raises regional tensions, as it occurred barely 24 hours after Nigeria deployed fighter jets and ground forces to Benin Republic to help foil an attempted coup against President Patrice Talon.
The Nigerian military intervention was carried out at the request of the Beninese government, a key member of ECOWAS, the regional bloc with which the AES nations have a deeply strained relationship.
The AES response indicates a severe escalation of military posturing between the two blocs:
The communiqué warned that, on the instruction of the Heads of State of the AES, the air defense and anti-aircraft systems of the confederal space have been placed on “maximum alert.”
The statement explicitly authorized the AES defense systems “to neutralize any aircraft that would violate the confederal space” in the future, citing the need to guarantee the security and sovereignty of the member states (Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger).
As of the time of this report, there has been no official response from the Nigerian Air Force or the Federal Government regarding the forced landing, the detention of its personnel, or the accusations of airspace violation.
The development marks a major diplomatic and security crisis for the ECOWAS leadership under Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.
