This information was disclosed by the state-run news agency Agence d’Information du Burkina, in a joint statement published by the Alliance of Sahel States, which comprises Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
“An aircraft belonging to the Air Force of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, type C-130, was forced to land today in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, following an in-flight emergency situation while it was operating in Burkinabe airspace,” the statement read partly.
According to the statement, the Nigerian aircraft flying over Burkina Faso’s airspace is an “unfriendly act” leading to a high alert and authorisation to “neutralise any aircraft” found to be violating the confederation’s airspace.
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Some reports suggest that Burkina Faso is considering taking action against Nigerian soldiers for what the country considers a violation.
The three Sahel countries denounced the incident as a breach of sovereignty, asserting that the body “condemns with the utmost firmness this violation of its airspace and the sovereignty of its member States.”
As seen in the Punch, the Sahel countries also 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.”
This incident is coming just days after Nigeria launched airstrikes against coup plotters in the West African state of Benin.
The airstrikes were in response to a botched coup by some members of the Beninese army.
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The countries that make up the Alliance of the Sahel States are countries currently running a junta government, following successful military coups.
