Conflicting accounts yesterday trailed the detention of a Nigerian Air Force, NAF, C-130 plane and 11 soldiers onboard in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso.
The Hercules aircraft and its occupants were detained by the Burkinabe government on Monday, with the crew, having been accused of entering the country’s airspace without clearance.
While NAF claimed its crew landed the aircraft in Burkina Faso due to technical concerns, Burkina Faso, one of the three Sahelian states that pulled out of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, recently disagreed.
In civil aviation, Annex 2 of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, Rules of the Air contains provisions relating to flights and maneuver of aircraft. It establishes a common set of operating rules that apply universally, without exception, over the high seas, and which states are responsible for enforcing within their own airspace.
Same rules basically apply to flight operations by the military. It is, therefore, considered a serious violation that could lead to a civil or military aircraft being brought down if it enters a sovereign nation’s airspace without clearance or permission.
The action of the Burkinabe government was supported by the two other Sahelian states of Mali and Niger Republic.
Recall that the three countries, now known as Confederation of Sahel States, AES, pulled out of ECOWAS, after military coups ousted their democratically-elected governments and pitched the juntas against the regional body.
Officials of the Confederation of Sahel States said their investigation showed the plane did not have authorisation to fly over Burkina Faso, describing the episode as a breach of national sovereignty and expressed strong displeasure over the unauthorised entry.
Giving a detailed account of how the plane and the 11 soldiers were detained, the AES in a statement signed by Assimi Goita, the Mali junta leader, said the NAF aircraft was forced to land on Monday in Bobo Dioulasso, following an “emergency situation in flight” while it was operating in the country’s airspace without clearance.
The statement read: “An investigation was immediately opened by the competent Burkinabe services and highlighted the lack of authorisation to fly over Burkinabe territory for this military apparatus (equipment).
“The Confederation of Sahel States most strongly condemns this violation of its airspace and the sovereignty of its member states.
“Faced with this unfriendly act carried out in defiance of international law and international civil and/or military aviation rules, arrangements are made to guarantee the security of the Confederal airspace, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its member states, as well as the safety of the populations of the Confederation AES.
“In this regard, and on the instructions of the Heads of State, the Arian and anti-aircraft defences of the Confederal space put on maximum alert, in accordance with the Declaration of the College of Heads of State dated December 22, 2024, were authorised to neutralise any aircraft that would violate the confederal space.”
NAF had, on Sunday, carried out air strikes on fleeing plotters of a failed coup in Benin Republic, following request, according to presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, from Benin authorities.
It is unclear if the mission stretched to Burkina Faso, which lies north-west of Benin Republic.
