BREAKING: Nigerian Army announces cyber-warfare operation under the banner of Exercise Crocodile Smile amidst #EndSARS protests

The army said the operation cyber-warfare will be under the banner of Exercise Crocodile Smile, which is an annual exercise and traditionally holds in the last quarter of the year.

The Nigerian Army has announced the commencement of a nationwide “cyberwarfare” operation, as protests against police brutality continue in the country.

The Nigerian Army, represented by Chief of Training and Operations, Major General Nuhu Angbazo made the announcement on Saturday at a press briefing held at a military camp in Ngamdu village of Borno State.

Journalists who travelled about 100km from Maiduguri to Ngamdu were not given the opportunity to ask questions or get clarification at the end of the briefing.

The statement was later communicated by the Army’s spokesperson, Sagir Musa.

The army said the operation 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 cyber warfare to be conducted in the history of the African armed forces; that will also improve Nigeria army’s capacity and resilience against hostile cyber acts in defence of our national security and critical national infrastructure,” it said.

Although the statement did not expressly list the ongoing protests as a possible target, the move is bound to raise concerns as another attempt by the government to clampdown on peaceful demonstrations across the country.