The Government of Burkina Faso has announced that a Nigerian Air Force C130 aircraft carrying eleven military personnel was compelled to land in the country on Monday after allegedly violating its airspace.
The incident was reported by Agence d’Information du Burkina, the state news agency, which released a statement from the Confederation of Sahel States.
According to the statement, translated from French, “The Confederation of Sahel States informs the public that a C130 aircraft belonging to the Air Force of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was forced to land today, December 8, 2025, in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, following an in-flight emergency while operating in Burkinabe airspace. The military aircraft had two crew members and nine passengers on board, all military personnel.”
The authorities added that a subsequent investigation by Burkinabe officials “revealed that the aircraft did not have authorisation to fly over Burkina Faso’s territory.”
The AES condemned the incident as a violation of sovereignty, saying it “condemns with the utmost firmness this violation of its airspace and the sovereignty of its member States.”
The body 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.”
No official comment has yet come from the Nigerian Air Force or the Federal Government.