The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has officially confirmed that its C-130 transport aircraft (NAF 913) arrived safely at the OGMA maintenance facility in Lisbon, Portugal, today, Friday, 26 December 2025.
The arrival marks the end of an 18-day diplomatic and technical ordeal that began when the aircraft was forced to make a “precautionary landing” in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, on December 8, leading to the temporary detention of its 11-member crew.
Following intense diplomatic negotiations led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, the aircraft followed a carefully managed flight plan to reach its destination.
The aircraft left Bobo-Dioulasso on Friday, 19 December, after being cleared by Burkinabè authorities. The crew made planned stops in Accra (Ghana), Banjul (The Gambia), and Casablanca (Morocco), with the aircraft touching down in Lisbon earlier today to begin its Scheduled Depot Maintenance (SDM).
Currently, the aircraft is in Portugal for Scheduled Depot Maintenance, a high-level, comprehensive overhaul required for military transport plans.
This involves stripping the aircraft down for deep structural inspections, engine overhauls, and avionics upgrades that cannot be performed during routine field maintenance. To ensure the long-term airworthiness and operational readiness of Nigeria’s heavy-lift fleet, which is critical for counter-insurgency logistics in the Northeast.
The detention was initially characterized by the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), comprising Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso as an “unfriendly act” and a violation of their airspace.
The impasse was resolved only after President Bola Tinubu dispatched a high-powered delegation to meet with Burkina Faso’s leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré. The Nigerian government maintained that the landing was a standard safety procedure necessitated by a technical fault while the aircraft was already en route to Portugal.
NAF Spokesman, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, confirmed that all 11 personnel on board (including two pilots and nine crew/passengers) arrived in Portugal in “high spirits” and are in good health. He expressed the NAF’s gratitude to the host authorities in Ghana, The Gambia, and Morocco for their support during the transit.
