The Federal Government has revealed that discussions were still ongoing over the detention of a Nigerian Air Force C-130 aircraft and 11 soldiers, noting they were yet to be released by the Burkinabe government.
Recall that the aircraft, crew, and soldiers onboard the plane were seized last week Monday, shortly after the crew made what it described as a precautionary landing in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.
The Nigerian Air Force, NAF, had said the aircraft on its way to Portugal for maintenance made the precautionary landing due to technical faults.
However, the government of Burkina Faso and its counterpart in the Confederation of Sahel States, AES, accused the crew of entering into its airspace without clearance, explaining why the Hercules plane was forced to land.
Speaking on the development on Sunday, December 14,, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Kimiebi Ebienfa, said the federal government was actively engaging the authorities of the country involved to resolve the matter diplomatically. “We are engaging them, but they are yet to be released,” Ebienfa said.
He added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had taken over the discussions to ensure the safe release of both the aircraft and the Nigerian military personnel. With the takeover of negotiation, the Nigerian Air Force has chosen to keep mute on the matter.
Though the ministry is handling the matter and not releasing details about talks on the issue, sources made further efforts to contact some retired NAF pilots to comment on the implication of detaining a military aircraft after it encountered an emergency situation.
Those contacted said it would be wrong to speculate or pass judgment on the true situation of things with the aircraft and soldiers, as discussions or negotiations were still ongoing between Nigerian officials and those of Burkina Faso.
“In such situations when the facts of the discussions are not made clear yet, assuming a conclusion may jeopardise the government-to-government discussion and lead to some avoidable risks. So I advise we wait for the outcome of the negotiation,” said one of the retired officers on condition of anonymity.
Sources, however, gathered that Burkina Faso and other Sahel states, including Mali and Niger, who were members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) before they were suspended due to violent military overthrow of democratic institutions in their countries, are trying to use the situation as a bargaining chip due to the fact there is a blockade of trade, movement of goods and services by ECOWAS.
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