The minister of foreign affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, on Wednesday held talks with Ibrahim Traoré, the junta leader of Burkina Faso, in Ouagadougou, the country’s capital.
Tuggar, who headed a Nigerian delegation to Burkina Faso, told journalists during a press briefing that the visit was undertaken at the directive of President Bola Tinubu.
The meeting took place nearly two weeks after 11 Nigerian soldiers, who were aboard an aircraft that made a forced landing in Burkina Faso, remained in the country.
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) had earlier explained that the C-130 aircraft was on a ferry mission to Portugal.
According to Ehimen Ejodame, director of public relations at the NAF, the aircraft crew detected a technical issue that required a precautionary landing in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso’s nearest suitable airfield.
Ejodame said the landing followed established safety guidelines and complied with international aviation standards.
However, Assimi Goita, the junta leader of Mali, later described the incident as an “unfriendly act carried out in defiance of international law”.
Goita made the statement on behalf of the Confederation of Sahel States (AES).
The AES subsequently announced that its member countries were authorised to neutralise any aircraft found violating their airspace.
Last Thursday, Tuggar confirmed that discussions were ongoing with Traoré to address the situation.
“We are discussing how we can resolve this delicate matter as quickly as possible, and we’re talking,” he told TheCable.
“So it’s something that is being handled diplomatically,” he added.
At the time, the foreign affairs minister noted that the soldiers were still in Burkina Faso but expressed optimism that the issue would be resolved swiftly.
There were later reports suggesting that Burkinabe authorities had released the soldiers following Tuggar’s meeting with Traoré.
However, Nigeria’s ministry of foreign affairs had yet to officially confirm the reports when contacted by TheCable.