20th January, 2017
The Nigerian troops arrived Dakar, the capital of Senegal on Thursday in accordance with the mandate of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The Force Commander, Operation restore Democracy in the Gambia, Air Commodore Tajudeen Yusuf, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN ), said the troops would restore democracy in the Gambia.
Yusuf said that some of the troops arrived on Wednesday, adding that with the arrival of other set on Thursday, the military had been sufficiently deployed and ready to do what they knew better.
“With the arrival of some troops since Wednesday and those that arrived on Thursday, the next thing is to put ourselves together for actions.
“We are now fully deployed. Men and officers are fully prepared to face any challenge from any quarters in the course of our professional operations,” he said.
The force commander further said that Nigeria was the coordinator and leader of the operations under the ECOWAS countries.
Yusuf said that more troops might be coming, but that for now, the troops had all they needed to carry out their responsibilities without any problems, whatsoever.
“The intervention may not be too long. The operation is to restore democracy in the Gambia.
“That I believe we are already achieving and after that, it may need stabilisation to ensure there is absolute peace in the country,” he said.