The Nigerian Army announced that it will commence a nationwide Exercise Crocodile Smile VI from the 20th of October to the 31st of December. It will be a cyber warfare exercise designed to identify, track and counter negative propaganda on social media.
The Army disclosed this in a statement on Saturday as protests continue over police brutality. The #EndSARS protests which started online is growing into a strong offline movement and the Nigerian Army’s announcement seems to be a response to counter the narratives set online by the protesters.
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Recall Nairameterics reported last week that the Nigerian Army said that it is highly committed to defending Nigeria’s democracy at all costs and warned “trouble makers to desist from such acts” as the #EndSARS protests continued.
In Saturday’s statement, the Army says it will resume the annual exercise which is usually conducted in the last quarter of the year, and 2020’s edition is scheduled to commence from the 20th of October to the 31st of December 2020.
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“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 Army said.
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The Army says it is committed to the sustenance of peace and security in Nigeria and urges Nigerians for their support during the period of the exercise.