Jammeh: Don't forget Gambia is a sovereign state – Ekweremadu warns ECOWAS

Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has warned against military action in the Gambia following that country's presidential election, saying such action could threaten the security of the entire sub-region.

The warning is in a statement issued by the Senate deputy president's Special Adviser on Media, Mr Uche Anichukwu on Tuesday in Abuja.

Ekweremadu said such action could plunge the country into bloodletting and threaten the peace of the sub-region.

The Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh lost to Mr Adama Barrow in the Dec. 1, 2016 presidential election but insisted that he would not handover power on Jan. 18.

Nigeria's deputy president of the Senate then urged the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government, as well as the international community to explore dialogue and to allow Gambian laws to prevail as a sovereign nation.

Ekweremadu, who is a former Speaker of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Parliament), also called for sanctions, in line with the traditions and relevant Protocols of ECOWAS.

According to him, sanctions should be considered in the event that dialogue and judicial options fail.

He added that 'from Liberia to Sierra Leone, Cote D'Ivoire, among others, West Africa has seen so much bloodletting and political instability.

'Heavy destruction of lives and property has been visited on the sub-region by insurgency and terrorism, which remain present danger to the peace and security of West Africa.