A security expert, Bulama Bukarti, has raised concern over the growing online presence of Boko Haram, saying the terrorist group is now using TikTok to spread its violent ideas and also operates unmanned drones to spy on the Nigerian military.
Bukarti, a senior fellow at the Extremism Policy Unit of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, made the statement on Sunday while speaking on *Politics Today*, a programme aired on Channels Television.
“Right now, when you go on TikTok, you will see Boko Haram members’ accounts,” he said. “They host live programmes where they push their violent beliefs in Hausa, take questions from viewers, and respond to comments.”
He added that one Boko Haram member recently posted a 10-minute video on TikTok attacking him personally for speaking out against the group’s increasing violence.
But more alarming, according to Bukarti, is the fact that Boko Haram now has access to unmanned drones, which they use to monitor military bases in the North-East.
“We know that Boko Haram now operates unmanned drones. They surveil military formations in the northeast,” he revealed.
He also said that in the last three months, the group has attacked more than seven Nigerian military super camps. “In places like Sabon Gari, they overran the camps, killed some soldiers, captured others, and made away with weapons, food, medicine, and other supplies before escaping into the bush,” he said.
His warning comes just days after Senator Ali Ndume, who represents Borno South, said the state lost 100 soldiers and 280 civilians to Boko Haram attacks in just six months.
Security experts are now calling for stronger action by both the government and tech companies to stop the spread of Boko Haram’s propaganda online and to limit the group’s growing strength.
