“Use Force if Necessary”: Former Senator Tells Tinubu Over Detained Soldiers in Burkina Faso

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) andformer senator representing Ekiti State, Ayodele Arise, has urged PresidentBola Ahmed Tinubu to consider a military option to secure the release ofNigerian soldiers reportedly being held in Burkina Faso. Arise made the call on Saturday while speaking on an AriseTelevision program,in reaction to recent comments by the Minister of ForeignAffairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, who confirmed that Nigerian soldiersaboard an aircraft that made a forced landing in Burkina Faso are still in thecountry. While acknowledging that the Nigerian military is currentlystretched by the challenges of insurgency and banditry at home, Arise insistedthat the option of military action against Burkina Faso should not be ruledout. He cited Israel’s 1976 Entebbe Raid in Uganda as an exampleof decisive action taken to rescue its citizens, stressing that Nigeria must befirm in defending its national interests. “I think we should move and do something. As a matter offact, once they are aware that we want to do that, I am sure that the man whois president there will have a rethink because they are our neighbors,” Arisesaid. “Yes, we should be friendly with our neighbors, but at thesame time, we should let them know that they can’t be messing with ourcountry”. Burkina Faso, alongside Mali andNiger, is under military rule and is part of the Confederation of Sahel States(AES), a breakaway regional bloc formed after exiting the Economic Community ofWest African States (ECOWAS).

Read More