Army begins exercise crocodile smile nationwide from Tuesday

As the #ENDSARS protests spread across the country, the Nigerian Army has announced readiness to embark on its annual exercise, Crocodile Smile IV nationwide.

In a statement signed by the Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sagir Musa, and made available to journalists on Saturday, the army disclosed that the exercise is scheduled to commence from the 20th of October to the 31st of December 2020.

According to the statement, “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 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.”