Nigeria puts 800 troops on standby for Gambia
A Nigerian army memo seen by Associated Press has indicated that the country is preparing a battalion of 800 troops for a possible military intervention in Gambia should President Yahya Jammeh refuse to cede power when his mandate expires next Thursday.
The memo reportedly signed by the chief of army staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, and describes the force as ECOMIG, or ECOWAS Mission in Gambia.
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The memo also indicates the 800 troops will come from different battalion as the force is already stretched from fighting Boko Haram's Islamic uprising in the northeast and deployed against oil militants in the South-south and Biafra movement in the South-east.
The report added that the standby force would be led by Senegal.
But Army spokesman, Brig. General Sani Kukasheka Usman denies Nigeria's military is readying such a force.
President Muhammadu Buhari and other West African leaders are currently in a meeting with President Yahya Jammeh in Gambia.
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Nigeria’s federal lawmakers have also voted to allow Buhari to offer asylum to Jammeh should he step down.
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