Overview
- Nigeria says the transport plane diverted to Bobo-Dioulasso after a technical issue was detected following departure from Lagos en route to Portugal.
- The Alliance of Sahel States called the overflight unauthorised and ordered air and anti-air defenses to maximum alert with authorization to neutralize violators.
- The Sahel alliance statement reported two crew members and nine passengers aboard the aircraft.
- A Nigerian Air Force spokesman said the landing followed standard safety procedures and that the personnel were safe and treated cordially by host authorities.
- The episode unfolds against a wider regional rift after Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger left ECOWAS, with tensions intensified by Nigerian airstrikes supporting Benin’s government during a short-lived coup attempt.