Nigeria deploys warship, troops to sack headstrong Gambia’s Jammeh

A Nigerian warship vessel dubbed the NNS Unity – is currently sailing off the coast of Ghana as it makes it way to Gambia in a deployment which is obviously part of the strategy of ECOWAS to force out President Yahya Jammeh who has refused to relinquish power.

A NAF source who confirmed the move, said some fighter jets were also expected to airlift the troops, and that men of the Air Force will leave for Senegal on Wednesday.

According to him, they will be briefed by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, at the Kainji base in Niger State.

He narrated further, that the Chiefs of Defence Staff of ECOWAS countries were in Abuja on Saturday, where they discussed what components each member state is expected to contribute to the troops that will force Yahya Jammeh out.

Read also: Barrow loses son to dog bite as Gambia’s S’Court fails to rule on Jammeh’s petition

The move became necessary after the region’s leaders through the West African body ECOWAS dialogued with Jammeh to step down following his last December 1 presidential election defeat by Mr. Adama Barrow to no avail.

Long-serving Jammeh who seems really desperate to hold onto power has declared a state of emergency citing undue foreign interference in the recently staged polls which he lost to his now exiled opponent Barrow.

Jammeh who initially accepted the outcome of the December polls later made a dramatic U-turn when he decided he wanted the election results annulled after the electoral commission admitted some errors, although it insisted this did not affect the final outcome.

 

 

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