By Williams Anuku, Abuja
The military high command says its operatives will commence a military operation codenamed Crocodile Smile across the federation.
The operation which is an annual exercise is scheduled to commence from October 20 to December 31, 2020.
According to the military, the exercise is aimed at maintaining security across the country, especially as the year 2020 gradually winds down.
Sagir Musa, a Colonel and acting Director Army Public Relations gave the notice on Saturday in Abuja in a statement in which he also noted that the operation would incorporate cyber warfare as a means of putting a stop to terrorism.
The statement read, “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”.
