A Nigerian Air Force C-130 aircraft and its 11 crew members, recently held in Burkina Faso, have been released and have arrived in Accra, Ghana, for a planned technical stopover. The aircraft is set to proceed to Portugal on Saturday as originally scheduled.
Kimiebi Ebienfa, spokesperson for Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed the development on Friday.
He stated the aircraft successfully departed from Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, where it had been detained for several days.
The Ministry praised the coordinated diplomatic efforts that secured the release, stating, “Bravo to the Embassy of Nigeria in Burkina Faso and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja.”
The aircraft was en route to Portugal for scheduled maintenance on December 8, 2025, when it made a precautionary emergency landing in Bobo-Dioulasso due to a mid-flight technical issue.
Burkinabe authorities subsequently detained the aircraft and crew, leading to approximately 10 days of diplomatic engagements between Nigeria and Burkina Faso.
Nigerian officials consistently maintained that the flight was a routine technical mission, the emergency landing followed international safety protocols, and the aircraft posed no threat.
Diplomatic channels were used to clarify the situation and successfully negotiate the crew’s release.
Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.
Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.
He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.
Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).
He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.
He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.
Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.
