Despite the claim by the military that their proposed Operation Crocodile Smile VI, which commences tomorrow has nothing to do with the #ENDSARS protests across the country, the military officers were earlier in the day stationed at the popular AYA roundabout with a roadblock and barricade.
Similarly, police officers are also stationed in front of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) headquarters with Armoured Personnel Carrier and water cannons. Protesters had defied Sunday night rain and camped overnight outside CBN headquarters protesting police brutality and extra-judicial killings of many Nigerians by the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), which the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammade Adamu has renamed Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT).
The Nigerian Army on Sunday said its ‘Operation Crocodile Smile’ which is kicking off across the country this week is not targeted at the #EndSARS protests. A statement issued by the Army Spokesperson Musa Sagir on Saturday noted that the exercise, scheduled to commence from October 20 to December 31, 2020, has no relationship with any lawful protest under any guise whatsoever.
“For the records, Exercise Crocodile Smile is a yearly exercise in the Nigerian Army calendar/forecast of events which traditionally holds from October to December of each year,” the statement read in part.
