David Hundeyin, a Nigerian investigative journalist has said that aviation source revealed to him why Nigeria’s number one Presidential Jet, Nigeria Air force, NAF 001 with President Bola Tinubu onboard spent so many hours in Algeria today.
He said it appeared to be stuck there because Niger refused permission for Tinubu to fly through Nigèrien airspace and threatened to shoot his plane out of the sky if he dared.
NAF 001 subsequently had to stop in Algeria to plot a new flight route to Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
Hundeyin said the jet tried to cut through the southwestern tip of Niger, but were forced to leave Nigèrien airspace.
As seen on flighware.com aircraft tracking data, the plane later entered Burkina Faso airspace.
The Ecowas Chairman and Nigerian president was returning back into Nigeria after an unscheduled one week stopover in Paris, the capital of France.
Hundeyin stated that the aircraft’s course remained unclear after suddenly abandoning its southeasterly course to Abuja and bailing out of Nigèrien airspace.
According to him the Aircraft later appearsed to be heading for Ghanaian airspace.
He said NAF 001 turned southeast heading toward Abuja via Togo and Benin immediately after getting into Ghanaian airspace.
In David Hundeyin’s words, “Nigeria’s president has officially been chased out of unfriendly neighbouring skies like a rat”
“NAF 001 is back in Nigerian airspace and is on final approach to Abuja with Nigeria’s president onboard after being chased out of that great big swathe of Nigèrien airspace and made to cut through Ghana, Togo and Benin like a fugitive”
Weeks before now, President Bola Tinubu had in a letter to the Senate and read at plenary by President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, sought the support of the National Assembly on a proposed military action and other sanctions planned by Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) against the military officers who seized power in Niger Republic.
Soldiers from the Presidential Guard had deposed President Mohamed Bazoum, thus ending the constitutional political leadership in the West African country. Two days later, the soldiers named General Abdourahamane Tchiani as the new leader of the country, with Tchiani warning against any foreign military intervention.
President Tinubu, who is the Chairman of ECOWAS, had met with some fellow ECOWAS leaders and they agreed on appropriate ways to restore democracy in Niger.
