Nigerian Military Plane Landing Emergency, Burkina Faso Defense Forces Alert

ILUSTRATE / Nigerian air force aircraft / DOC PHOTO via Wikimedia Commons

JAKARTA - Nigerian Air Force aircraft made an emergency landing at Burkina Faso Monday night due to a state of emergency on board, according to a regional alliance calling it a violation of Burkina Faso airspace.

The Sahel State Alliance, which includes Burkina Faso and neighboring countries, Mali and Niger, puts their air and anti-air defenses on maximum alert with the authority "to neutralize any aircraft that violates the confederation's airspace," according to a statement by General Assimi Goita, Mali's military junta leader.

Reported by ABC News, Tuesday, December 9, the Nigerian Air Force confirmed that its plane bound for Portugal made an emergency landing in the city of Bobo-Dioulaso, which has a nearby airfield.

The reasons for the emergency have not been disclosed.

Edimen Ejodame, Nigeria's air force spokesman, said the landing was carried out in accordance with international safety and procedures standards.

"The NAF crew survived and has received friendly treatment from the host authority," said Ejodame in a statement.

The statement from the Sahel alliance stated that there were two crew members and nine passengers on the plane.

The incident follows a link between the alliance and Nigeria, which was involved in an intervention effort that helped reverse a brief coup on Sunday in Benin, where the Nigerian Air Force launched an airstrike targeting the coup perpetrators.

Burkina Faso is located on the northwestern border of Benin, while Nigeria is located on the eastern border of Benin.

Nigeria is one of 15 members of the West African regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States. Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger formed the Sahel alliance after withdrawing from ECOWAS, which the alliance accused of imposing inhumane, coup-related, and detrimental sanctions on the interests of citizens in alliance countries.