Nigerian soldiers still held in Burkina Faso, says Tuggar

The fate of 11 Nigerian troops remain unclear after ‘unauthorised’ plane landing in Burkina Faso as confusion over diplomatic standoff deepened after conflicting reports about the soldiers’ whereabouts.

The minister of foreign affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, said the Nigerian soldiers who were on an aircraft that made a forced landing in Burkina Faso are still in the West African country, despite earlier suggestions they had been freed, deepening confusion about the diplomatic standoff.

Tuggar spoke on Thursday at the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja when asked about the status of the soldiers in a joint press briefing with Olushegun Bakari, his Beninese counterpart.

Burkinabé authorities told the BBC on Tuesday that the troops had been released and given permission to return to Nigeria, but officials in Abuja have said the matter is yet to be resolved.

Tuggar said talks are ongoing with Ibrahim Traoré, Burkinabe junta leader, to resolve the matter.

“We are discussing how we can resolve this delicate matter as quickly as possible, and we’re talking. So it’s something that is being handled diplomatically,” he said.

When asked to confirm if the soldiers are still in Burkina Faso, Tuggar replied: “Yes, they are”. In addition, Bakari clarified that the NAF aircraft saga in Burkina Faso had nothing to do with the support Nigeria provided to foil the coup attempt in Benin.

On Monday, the Confederation of Sahel States (AES) accused an aircraft carrying 11 Nigerian soldiers of violating Burkinabe airspace. AES is a breakaway West African regional union made up of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger Republic.

Assimi Goita, the Mali junta leader, described the landing as an “unfriendly act carried out in defiance of international law”. The AES said it authorised its member states to neutralise any aircraft violating its airspace.

The development came at the same time Nigerian troops carried out air strikes in Benin to help foil a coup. Commenting on the situation, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) said the C-130 aircraft was on a ferry mission to Portugal.