Confusion over diplomatic standoff between Nigeria and Burkina Faso deepened on Thursday following after conflicting reports about the detained soldiers’ whereabouts
Despite earlier suggestions they had been freed, reports indicated that the 11 Nigerian military personnel are still in Burkina Faso days after their plane made an “unauthorised” landing in the south-west city of Bobo Dioulasso.
Burkinabé authorities told the BBC on Tuesday that the troops had been released and given permission to return to Nigeria, but officials in Abuja have said the matter at hand has not been resolved yet by both sides.
However, with no definitive message on the matter, Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, was quoted as saying late on Wednesday that that Nigerian embassy in Ouagadougou was “engaging with the host authorities to secure their release”.
The stand-off all began on Monday when a Nigerian military cargo plane, a C-130, travelling from Lagos to Portugal was forced to land in Burkina Faso.
Offering an explanation on the issue, the Nigerian Air Force said technical concerns had forced the plane to divert to the nearest airport “in line with standard safety procedures and international aviation protocols”.
The Burkinabé authorities had treated the crew courteously and plans were under way to continue the mission, the statement by NAF had earlier reported.
But in a surprised move, authorities in Burkina Faso, which is part of the three-member Alliance of Sahel States (AES), called the landing an “unfriendly act carried out in defiance of international law” in a statement later that evening.
Conspiracy theories began circulating on social media and offline given that the landing came within 24 hours of Nigerian troops helping to thwart a coup attempt in Benin, which borders Nigeria and Burkina Faso.
Recalled, the AES trio of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger officially left the larger ECOWAS regional bloc in January, forming a military alliance as it withdrew from many of its traditional local and international allegiances. – With The Guardian report
