Nigeria’s C-130 military plane didn’t choose to land in Bobo-Dioulasso, we detected, forced it to land, Burkina Faso counters Abuja’s claims

*As Sahel source confirms 11 Nigerian soldiers, C-130 plane still in Ouagadougou

*”Why should Tinubu allow himself to be used as puppet for France’s economic interest in West Africa?” – Gambia-based continental media executive

*Tinubu underrated Traore, plotted with France against him “but the plan backfired” – Investigation

By KEMI KASUMU and OUR REPORTERS, Abuja and Ouagadougou

Contrary to the official Nigerian version, it was not the crew that chose to land at Bobo-Dioulasso. The aircraft was detected by Burkinabe Air Force radars as it entered the national airspace without authorization, flight plan, and without prior communication. In the face of this apparent violation of air sovereignty, the Burkinabe forces immediately initiated an interception procedure. The aircraft was forced to land at Bobo-Dioulasso, a highly strategic area for military operations of the AES

Following a report titled “Caught in the Sky: How Burkina Faso Uncovered a Nigerian Covert Espionage Operation Against the Sahel”, The DEFENDER Newspaper embarked on a thorough investigation as to whether the report was authentic or not and the result was in the affirmative.

According to the report, the Nigeria’s C-130 was not a transport plane — it was an espionage aircraft, flying a surveillance mission on behalf of France.

They assumed Burkina Faso wouldn’t see it. They assumed the Sahel was still blind. Those days are over.

Burkina Faso’s airspace is now covered by advanced Russian radar systems, watching the skies in real time. The aircraft was detected the moment it crossed the border without authorisation, flight plan, or clearance.

Burkinabe air force units were immediately dispatched, the C-130 was then intercepted and, therefore, forced to land.

A military intelligence operation carried out by the Burkinabe Air Force, revealed a strategic sabotage plan against the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) thus being to open long rumoured information going on the YouTube channels about how President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria wanted to arrest and hand Burkinabe President Ibrahim Traore over to France simply because the people of his country say “enough of their decades of exploitation by colonialists who love them and their fellow Africans for no more than enslavement.”

The incident of the Nigerian C-130 intercepted in the skies of Burkina Faso is not a diplomatic accident, the report revealed, much less a mere technical malfunction as claimed by Abuja, the Nigeria’s capital. “This was a carefully planned clandestine military operation aimed at collecting sensitive data on Burkina Faso’s defence susteks. This infiltration attempt, orchestrated in the shadows, is part of a broader strategy of hybrid warfare against the sovereign states of the Sahel, with the active complicity of French networks still present in the region,” it said.

Contrary to the official Nigerian version, it was not the crew that chose to land at Bobo-Dioulasso.

The aircraft was detected by Burkinabe Air Force radars as it entered the national airspace without authorisation, flight plan, and without prior communication.

In the face of this apparent violation of air sovereignty, the Burkinabe forces immediately initiated an interception procedure. The aircraft was forced to land at Bobo-Dioulasso, a highly strategic area for military operations of the AES.

It was not until this forced landing that the true nature of the mission was revealed.

On Board: Eleven Nigerian officers, not identified as logistics or diplomatic personnel, but as specialists in tactical navigation, military geolocation and electromagnetic data collection. The aircraft was equipped with passive electronic surveillance systems, capable of capturing: The GPS coordinates of Burkinabe military bases& positions, The frequencies of communication of the command units, and Strategic installations radar signatures.

These equipment are typical of SIGINT (electromagnetic origin intelligence) missions, used to map military infrastructure, detect troop movements, and identify neuralgic points of a defensive device.

The objective was clear: to establish a tactical database on the Burkinabe armed forces, in an undeclared war logic.

According to several security sources, this mission would have been prepared in coordination with French networks still active in the region, despite the official withdrawal of hexagonal troops. France, losing its influence in the Sahel, would seek to keep an eye on the military dynamics of the AES, relying on regional relays, namely in the Nigerian security device. Nigeria, ECOWAS’ pivot and strategic partner of the West, would play the role of indirect infiltration vector here, under the guise of bilateral cooperation.

The choice of Bobo-Dioulasso as a target is not anodine. This city is a major logistics and military crossroads, home to critical infrastructure for the coordination of Sahelian forces. While attempting to fly over this area without authorization, the device probably intended to scan troop installations and movements in order to transmit this data to external analysis centers.

The rapid and decisive response of the Burkinabe Air Force resulted in the failure of this intelligence operation, neutralizing the equipment on board, and placing officers under control, in strict adherence to national security procedures. An extensive investigation is underway, and preliminary results confirm the hostile nature of the mission.

This episode confirms that Burkina Faso, far from being a passive space, is now a sovereign state, master of its skies, borders and strategic secrets. It also demonstrates that external powers, unable to accept the rise to power of the Sahelian states, are resorting to indirect, stealthy, and illegal methods to attempt to curb their emancipation.

But the plan backfired.

And the message is clear: no more clandestine operation will go unnoticed in the Burkinabe skies. The people and their institutions are alert, united, and determined to defend every inch of their sovereignty.

As of today, Saturday , December 13, 2025, the Nigerian military aircraft and the 11 soldiers on board are still in Faso.

This is what France has been doing for decades.

France has listening posts and surveillance installations across Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Senegal, and other Francophone countries — using them to spy on presidents, military officials, and state institutions. Their eyes are everywhere. Nothing moves without Paris watching.

This is not partnership. This is occupation by other means.

“France has penetrated Africa so deeply — politically, militarily, economically, and psychologically — that a clean break is unavoidable. Not cosmetic reforms. Not fake “cooperation.” A total rupture.

“France is a leech, sucking the blood of Francophone countries: controlling currencies, manipulating elections, propping up puppets, stealing resources, and crushing any leader who dares step out of line.

“This system cannot be negotiated away.
It has to be expelled.

“Francophone Africa will never be free as long as French intelligence, military bases, and economic chains remain intact. The illusion of sovereignty must end.

“France must go — from the palaces, from the barracks, from the skies, from the systems.

“Africa is done being watched, managed, and drained,” the the report.

Dawda Bayo, Director of Bayo News Network with close monitor of Burkina Faso’s development, confirmed the report. The Gambia-based president of Pan-African Movement Forum said, “All the analysis you sent for fact-checking is right, as the Nigerian military plane was on espionage mission for France.

“But the sad part is why will Tinubu allow himself to be used as a stooge or puppet for France’s economic interest in west Africa and even involved in Benin politics when Boko Haram terrorists are destabilising entire Nigeria?,” he asked.

It will be recalled that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had in recent months declared Burkina Faso as his top priority in the black world, which makes Tinubu’s actions allegedly against the country a case of Nigerian president dragging his country into conflict with those powers.