The Nigerian Army has declared that it is set to begin its annual exercise “Crocodile Smile” to identify, track and counter negative propaganda in the social media and across the cyberspace.
This is coming barely eight days after #EndSARS protesters stormed streets to demand for the proscription of the controversial police unit, SARS and this protest has escalated to major cities in the country as protesters vow to continue until their demands are met.
This was contained in statement released by the Spokesperson of the army, Musa Sagir.
According to the statement, the exercise will start across the nation from Tuesday.
Sagir said this year’s Exercise CROCODILE SMILE V1 is scheduled to commence from the 20th of October to the 31st of December 2020.
“The Exercise is deliberately intended to be all encompassing to include cyber warfare exercises designed to identify, track and counter negative propaganda in the social media and across the cyberspace.
“This is the first ever Cyberwarfare exercise to be conducted in the history of the African Armed Forces.
Accordingly, the exercise will also include positive identification component aimed at identifying Boko Haram terrorists fleeing from the North East and other parts of the country as a result of the ongoing operations in the various theatres of operations especially in the Northeast, North Central and North Western parts of Nigeria.
“The Nigerian Army, once again, reassures all well meaning Nigerians of its commitment to the sustenance of peace and security in Nigeria and urges members of the public for their support and understanding throughout the period of the exercise.”