The Federal Government has disclosed how Nigerian security agencies work with social media companies to identify and remove TikTok and other online accounts used by terrorists to promote violence and criminal activities.
Speaking at an end-of-year briefing in Abuja, the Director-General of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, Maj.-Gen. Adamu Laka, said terrorists had used TikTok to publicise operations, display looted items and communicate with supporters.
According to him, security agencies regularly engage social media companies to flag and take down accounts that threaten national security.
“The issue of social media platforms used by terrorist groups—if you knew how many accounts we took down. We have had several meetings with these social media platforms like: TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and X.
“They are businesses looking to grow their subscribers, but we engage them, explain the effects of certain posts on national security, and we take them down.
“There was a time when bandits would go on TikTok showing their loot. We took those accounts down—you don’t see that again. At some point, they were even doing live streams and holding conversations, but we’ve been able to handle all that,” he said.
Laka added that terrorists now try to evade detection by using aliases and unverified accounts, but security agencies continue to adjust their methods.
He also said ransom payments remain a source of terror financing, often routed through point-of-sale operators, noting that efforts to track and disrupt such transactions are ongoing.
While acknowledging security challenges in the region, Laka assured Nigerians that authorities would continue to strengthen digital counter-terrorism measures and intensify the removal of extremist content online.