Nigerian government partners with social media companies to block terrorist accounts

Nigeria’s security agencies are working with major social media companies to identify and shut down accounts used by terrorists and criminal groups to promote their activities and raise funds, the federal government has revealed.

The Director-General of the National Counter Terrorism Center, Abuja, Major General, spoke at a year-end briefing in Abuja on Tuesday. Adamu Laka said terrorists use platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and X to promote operations, display looted items and communicate with supporters.

“The issue of social media platforms used by terrorist groups – if you know how many accounts we have shut down. We have had multiple meetings with these social media platforms, such as: TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and X.

“They are businesses looking to increase their subscribers, but we engage with them to explain the national security implications of certain posts, and then we remove them.

“There was a time when bandits would show off their loot on TikTok. We took those accounts down — you won’t see that anymore. At some points, they were even live streaming and having conversations, but we’ve been able to handle that.”

Terrorists’ tactics continue to evolve, including the use of aliases and unverified accounts, he noted, adding that security agencies were constantly taking measures to deal with such developments.

Raqqa also said ransom payments remain a major source of terror financing, with point-of-sale operators increasingly being exploited to move funds.
He explained that in many cases, the ransom is transferred to the accounts of POS operators, who then hand over the cash to the kidnappers, making tracking more difficult.

“You see transfers made by terrorists and when you investigate the account, it belongs to a POS operator. The kidnappers give the POS operator’s number, the money is transferred and then they go and collect it,” he said.