Nigeria and Cameroon Sign Bilateral Pact to Strengthen Air Safety Cooperation

Nigeria and Cameroon have signed a Bilateral Agreement on Technical Aeronautical Search and Rescue Operations, aimed at improving aviation safety and coordination across their shared airspace.

The agreement was formally signed on Friday in Yaoundé after high-level discussions between Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, and Cameroon’s Minister of Transport, Jean Ernest NgalNgallé Bibehe.

Keyamo disclosed the development on Saturday via his official X account, stating that the agreement will enhance airspace safety by allowing faster, more coordinated responses to aviation emergencies along both countries’ borders.

Strengthening Emergency Response and Cooperation

The Nigerian delegation included senior aviation officials such as the Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority and the Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, alongside key directors from the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development.

According to Keyamo, the presence of top aviation authorities was intentional to ensure a unified and effective implementation of the agreement from the start.

The pact establishes a formal framework for technical collaboration between both countries, enabling joint search and rescue operations in the event of aircraft emergencies occurring near or within their shared border regions.

Agreement Follows Recent Regional Aviation Incident

The signing comes months after a Nigerian Air Force C-130 aircraft made an emergency landing in Burkina Faso due to a technical fault mid-flight.

The aircraft’s crew and passengers, totaling 11 military personnel, were detained for nine days by Burkinabe authorities over allegations of unauthorized airspace entry. They were later released following diplomatic intervention by Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, acting on the directive of President Bola Tinubu.

The new agreement is expected to reduce such incidents in the future by improving coordination, communication, and emergency response between both nations’ aviation authorities.