A combined photo ofYusuf Tuggar and Ibrahim Traoré, Tuggar and Nigerian Soldiers
By Shade Damiro
Burkina Faso has released 11 Nigerian soldiers detained after their aircraft made a forced landing in the Sahelian country 13 days after they were detained.
The soldiers were released after President Bola Tinubu sent a delegation led by Yusuf Tuggar, minister of foreign affairs, to meet with Ibrahim Traoré, Burkin Faso’s junta leader, on Wednesday.
A statement issued by Alkasim Abdulkadir, Tuggar’s spokesperson, said both sides amicably resolved the issue concerning the Nigerian Air Force pilots and crew.
The soldiers were detained for nearly two weeks after the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) described the landing as an “unfriendly act carried out in defiance of international law”.
But the air force said the crew observed a technical concern which necessitated a precautionary landing in Bobo-Dioulasso, a city in Burkina Faso, with the nearest airfield.
NAF said the landing was in accordance with standard safety procedures and international aviation protocols.
Abdulkadir noted that Tuggar delivered a message of solidarity and fraternity from Tinubu to Traoré, as both sides considered avenues for deepening bilateral relations and strengthening integration within the regional bloc.
