The Federal Government has confirmed the release of a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) aircraft and 11 soldiers who were detained in Burkina Faso following a forced landing.

Confirming the development on Wednesday night, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Kimiebi Ebienfa, said both the aircraft and the detained personnel had been released.

“Yes, they have been released,” Ebienfa said.

The confirmation followed a diplomatic engagement earlier on Wednesday between Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Yusuf Tuggar, and the Burkinabe junta leader, Mr Ibrahim Traoré, in Ouagadougou.

Details surrounding the circumstances of the forced landing were not immediately disclosed, but the release is seen as the outcome of diplomatic efforts by the Federal Government to resolve the matter amicably.