The Nigerian Senate on Thursday tasked security agencies to track down bandits and terrorists who openly advertise their criminal activities and flaunt their ransom loot on social media platforms, particularly TikTok, describing the N100million ‘Giveaway’ to the public as a dangerous impunity.
The resolution to this effect was adopted during plenary after a motion by Senator Sunday Karimi (Kogi West) on disturbing escalating bandit attacks and terrorist incursions in Kogi West and other parts of the country.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central) introduced an additional prayer urging the Nigerian Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) and other security agencies to track, monitor and arrest individuals using social media to advertise criminal operations.
Emphasising that “Bandits and terrorists who carry out these activities live on their social media handles,” Akpoti-Uduaghan recalled that “Two days ago, bandits conducted a giveaway, distributing over ₦100m within the space of 30 minutes through their social media handles, especially TikTok.”
Asserting that the public nature of the alleged giveaway raised serious questions about why agencies tasked with tracking cyber-enabled crimes had not made arrests, Akpoti-Uduaghan wondered “why the Cybercrime Unit and the Police Force generally cannot track these activities and apprehend them since they are on social media,” and therefore urged “the Nigerian Police Force National Cybercrime Centre to track and arrest these individuals.”
The prayer was seconded by Senator Osita Ngwu (Enugu West) and received support across party lines, signalling broad legislative concern over what lawmakers described as the convergence of insecurity and unchecked digital exposure by criminal groups.
Responding, Senate President Godswill Akpabio described the conduct of the terrorists as a show of impunity, insisting that the Department of State Services (DSS) should be able to trace their movements and effect arrests.
According to Akpabio, “The Department of State Services should be able to track their movements and arrest them because this is a show of impunity, as if there is no law at all.”
He further described the online videos as a direct challenge to state authority and warned that the public display of cash and criminal exploits on social media undermines confidence in Nigeria’s security architecture.
The senate president said, “I do not see why we should not have control over the social media space. That idea of showing themselves, showing the cash collected and displaying it is a way of challenging the government.
“I want the security agencies and heads of security services to see this as a major challenge. Whenever anybody finds such content, bring it to the attention of the Senate, and we shall invite the relevant federal authorities to explain why those people have not been apprehended.”
Urging the intelligence and security agencies to treat the matter as an urgent national-security issue and improve coordination and real-time response to online intelligence, Akpabio also called for public accountability once suspects are arrested and prosecuted.
Senator Akpabio directed that “If they are apprehended, they should also report back so that Nigerians can know that those who openly show their faces while committing crimes are being arrested and prosecuted.”
