Nigeria refutes Portugal summoning envoy over detained plane

A file photo of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has rejected reports that the Nigerian Acting Head of Mission in Portugal (name withheld) was summoned by the Portuguese government over the movement of a Nigerian Air Force aircraft scheduled for maintenance in the European country.

Informing journalists on Friday in Abuja, ministry spokesperson Kimiebi Ebienfa described the claims circulating online as entirely false.

“The alleged summoning of the Nigerian Ambassador in Lisbon by Portuguese authorities over a Nigerian Air Force aircraft heading to Portugal for maintenance is fake news,” he said.

The clarification follows heightened attention on the C-130 aircraft that made an unplanned landing in Burkina Faso earlier in the week.

The aircraft, en route to Portugal for scheduled maintenance, landed in Bobo-Dioulasso after the crew detected a technical issue shortly after departing from Lagos on December 8, 2025.

Burkina Faso’s state-run Agence d’Information du Burkina reported that the military aircraft, carrying 11 Nigerian soldiers, was forced to land for allegedly violating the country’s airspace.

A statement from the Confederation of Sahel States said investigators had “highlighted the absence of authorisation to fly over the territory of Burkina Faso for this military device.” It added that the regional bloc “condemns with the utmost firmness this violation of its airspace and the sovereignty of its member states.”

The Nigerian Air Force has maintained that the aircraft diverted strictly in line with international aviation protocols.

Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts are intensifying to secure the release of the soldiers and the aircraft, now in their fifth day of detention.

The PUNCH journalist, Gift, has over three years of experience covering elections, security and foreign affairs.

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