Nigerian military troops are in transit to The Gambia for peacekeeping following rising political tension in the country.
According to Punch, Nigeria's newest warship, the NNS Unity, will arrive Senegal on Wednesday, January 18, from where the troops will kick-off the Gambia missions.
Citing a top military source  in the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), the newspaper reported that  the troops would be briefed by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, in the early hours of Wednesday, before leaving for Senegal, Gambia's neighboring country.
It was learnt that the Nigerian troops comprise of the Air Force, the Navy, the Army. Some of the NAF fighter jets will reportedly airlift the troops.
The source said: "I can confirm to you that men of the Air Force will leave for Senegal tomorrow (Wednesday). They will be briefed by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, at the Kainji base in Niger State.
"That Nigeria is deploying troops is now a certainty after several meetings with The Gambian president yielded no result. The Chiefs of Defence Staff of ECOWAS countries came to Abuja on Saturday, where they discussed what components each member state is expected to contribute to the troops that will force Yahya Jammeh out.
"The troops are expected to stay for two weeks and they will be received at a base in Senegal."
Another military source was quoted as saying, "The NNS Unity is currently sailing off the coast of Ghana, after leaving from Lagos. It is not only Nigeria. Senegal is the host country for the troops, as it would be easy to launch an attack from there."
The refusal of the outgoing President Yahya Jammeh to accept the result of December 1 election which he lost has plunged the country into crisis.
Jammeh on Tuesday, January 17, declared a state of emergency and barred international journalists from the tiny West African nation, as he vowed not to step down after 22 years of ruling.
The efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria and some other West African leaders to convince Jammeh to hand over power was not successful.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has, however, said it would explore all options including the use of military to remove the embattled President.
Senegal is also said to be preparing ground troops ahead of Thursday's deadline.
The winner of the December 1 presidential election, Adama Barrow, a property developer, is expected to be sworn in on Thursday, January 19.
Jammeh took power in a coup in 1994 as only the second president since The Gambia's independence in 1965 and his government gained a reputation for torturing and killing perceived opponents and rights groups.
In 2015, he declared that the country was an Islamic Republic.