Gambians flee from home as Buhari escorts Gambia’s president-elect to safety

Gambians flee from home as Buhari escorts Gambia’s president-elect to safety

- Gambia’s president-elect Adama Barrow has been taken to safety ahead of his inauguration on January 19 by President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria and other ECOWAS leaders

- Successive failures of African leaders to coax President Yahya Jammeh of Gambia to accept the result of last month’s polls’ which he initially conceded losing led to this step

- Gambians are now reportedly fleeing across the border into neighbouring Senegal and to Guinea-Bissau as a result of the political uncertainty and fear of violence

Gambians flee from home as Buhari escorts Gambia’s president-elect to safety
Gambians flee from home as Buhari escorts Gambia’s president-elect to safety

President Yahya Jammeh of Gambia has remained resolute in his decision not to step down from power when his tenure ends on January 19 despite several overtures from ECOWAS leaders led by President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria.

And as a result of his refusal to quit power, the Nigerian president in company of other West-African leaders has succeeded in whisking Gambia’s president-elect Adama Barrow to safety.

READ ALSO: We’ll force Gambia Jammeh to step down with military force- ECOWAS

Reports from Premium Times have it that the president-elect would remain in neighbouring Senegal until inauguration day when West African leaders would accompany him to Banjul swearing-in.

President Buhari had led a three-nation delegation to Banjul to persuade the Gambia leader to step down but according to Nigerian foreign minister Geoffrey Onyeama, who was part of President Buhari’s delegation, the trip failed to get Jammeh to step down.

Recall that the Gambia president said he would not stand aside until the country’s Supreme Court decides on his legal challenge which seeks the annulment of last month’s polls’ result, a result which he initially conceded losing.

Gambians flee from home as Buhari escorts Gambia’s president-elect to safety
President Buhari

Ghana’s former president John Mahama; Liberian leader Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and Mr. Buhari have spent the last month attempting to persuade Mr. Jammeh into leaving power.

The African Union on the other hand claimed that there would be “serious consequences” for Jammeh, if his refusal leads to violence.

READ ALSO: Jammeh ‘will not step down’ when mandate ends – Gambian minister

Mohamed Ibn Chambas, head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, however said on Friday that ECOWAS would ask the Security Council to approve the deployment of troops to The Gambia if Mr. Jammeh refuses to cede power.

Meanwhile, thousands of Gambians are said to be fleeing across the border into neighbouring Senegal and to Guinea-Bissau as a result of the political uncertainty and fear of violence in case the president refuses to step down from power.

Tibna Sambe Na Wana, the national coordinator for Guinea-Bissau’s refugee commission, claimed that more than 1,000 Gambians had crossed into the country, where they do not require a visa, in recent days.

“It is clear that the total number is far higher than a thousand and rising daily,” Na Wana said.

Women, children and the elderly made up the greatest numbers, the official said, with more than 500 passing one border post near the town of Jegue in three days.

“They say they are scared of a military escalation,” Na Wana added.

In Senegal, the UN’s refugee agency said “several thousand people” had crossed into the southern Casamance region from The Gambia, especially children.

Meanwhile, a Nigerian army memo seen by Premium Times 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.

Source: Legit.ng

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