David Hundeyin, an investigative journalist, has reported on the return of President Bola Tinubu to Nigeria after a week of silence on his whereabouts since the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Members of his delegation returned to Nigeria without him, raising concerns about his itinerary.
However, according to Hundeyin, Tinubu’s return yesterday was met with delay in the sky because the Niger Republic refused him permission to fly through Nigerien airspace.
The journalist noted that Niger also threatened to shoot Tinubu’s plane out of the sky if he dared flew in her airspace.
“NAF 001 subsequently had to stop in Algeria to plot a new flight route to Abuja. They tried to cut through the southwestern tip of Niger, but they have just been forced to leave Nigèrien airspace!
“They’ve just entered Burkina Faso! Drama in West Africa’s skies!” Hundeyin wrote on his official X handle on Friday evening before the president arrived in Nigeria.
He also shared Mr Tinubu’s flight position with a flight tracker which explained his report.
In his words: “My aviation source tells me that the reason NAF 001 with Bola Tinubu onboard spent so many hours in Algeria where it appeared to be stuck is that 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. They tried to cut through the southwestern tip of Niger, but they have just been forced to leave Nigèrien airspace! They’ve just entered Burkina Faso! Drama in West Africa’s skies!”
“NAF 001 has now turned southeast and is heading toward Abuja via Togo and Benin immediately after getting into Ghanaian airspace! Nigeria’s president has officially been chased out of unfriendly neighboring skies like a rat! Amazing scenes!”
This tension, according to Hundeyin is in relation to the invasion threats Tinubu made against Niger owing to the recent coup.
Meanwhile, Tinubu had solicited help to re-establish democratic governance in a manner that addresses the political and economic challenges confronting Nigeria and West Africa.
He had also met with some Nigerians in the U.S, where he urged them to change their mindset to succeed.