Soldiers have stormed and taken over strategic places in Abuja, the country’s capital to ward off planned #EndSARS contrary to earlier several warnings against it.
The military officers were stationed at the popular Aya roundabout early Monday morning, with a roadblock and barricade.
Also, police officers are 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.
Recall that Nigerian Army had pledged to launch ‘Exercise Crocodile Smile’ V1 beginning from Tuesday, October 21, and countered on Sunday, October 19 that the operation was not targeted at #ENDSARS protesters and assist in identifying terrorists in the country.
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.
