#EndSARS Protest: Soldiers Take Charge Of Security In Abuja
By Taiye Lawal
Men of the Nigerian Army on Monday took over the streets of Abuja in a bid to provide security for the seat of government.
Soldiers were seen in Abuja placing themselves in strategic places and quietly observing the situation.
According to the Acting Director Army Public Relations, Sagir Musa, 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.
“The Nigerian Army is set to start its annual Exercise CROCODILE SMILE which is traditionally conducted in the last quarter of the year. This year’s Exercise CROCODILE SMILE VI 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.”
However, the Nigerian Army yesterday said that its exercise has nothing to do with #EndSARS protest. In the early hours of the day, hoodlums had attacked EndSARS protesters who had laid a siege on the headquarter of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
Though the Bank had directed its staff to work from home, the hoodlums attacked the protesters where they had camp for the night and burnt down their vehicles.
