Tensions in West Africa escalated yesterday as Burkina Faso detained 11 personnel of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) after their aircraft made an emergency landing in the country amid heightened regional security concerns.
The aircraft, reportedly on a routine mission, landed unexpectedly in Dori, northeastern Burkina Faso, where authorities immediately seized the crew and placed them under investigation.
The Alliance of Sahel States (AES), comprising Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, accused the plane of entering Burkina Faso’s airspace without authorisation.
Leaders of the AES, led by Mali’s junta head Colonel Assimi Goïta, condemned the incident and activated heightened anti-aircraft defence alerts across the three member states. The bloc said the emergency landing constituted a “serious breach” of sovereign airspace at a time of deepening political and military frictions in the region.
The seizure comes barely 24 hours after Nigeria deployed fighter jets into the Benin Republic to help foil an attempted coup against President Patrice Talon, an action strongly opposed by AES governments, who have accused ECOWAS and Nigeria of “aggressive posturing” in recent months.
As at press time today, no diplomatic breakthrough has been announced between Abuja and Ouagadougou. Nigerian defence officials have not publicly commented on the detention, while Burkina Faso’s military government insists the matter is under “intense investigation.”
The standoff adds a volatile new layer to already strained relations in the subregion, following Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger’s withdrawal from ECOWAS earlier this year and the formation of their own security and political pact, the Alliance of Sahel States.
Security analysts warn that the continued detention of NAF personnel, coupled with AES’ military readiness posture, could inflame geopolitical rivalries and further destabilise the fragile security environment in West Africa.
“This is a dangerous moment,” one regional analyst said. “You have Nigeria intervening to protect democracy in Benin, and now AES states responding aggressively to any military movement in their airspace. Miscalculations are possible.”
Efforts to secure the release of the detained officers remain unclear. Both sides have kept negotiations, if any, away from the public domain, leaving families, diplomats, and regional blocs anxious about the next steps.
The development underscores deepening military, political, and diplomatic fractures across West Africa, fractures that could widen if the situation is not de-escalated swiftly.
