In a widely shared video, some terrorists can be seen flashing cash that they stole as ransom and posted on social media.
The funds were seen in a string of tweets that well-known security expert Zagazola Makama sent on X.
The tweet said: “Audacity: Bandit on Tiktok flaunting and showing off ransom money he collected from his victims.
“The user of the account has 3000 followers, some of them are bandits who openly show off their rifle and dressed in military or police uniforms.
“Tiktok platform has given room for insurgents to promote their campaign of terror without being restricted.”
Audacity: Bandit on Tiktok flaunting and flashing off ransom money he obtained from his victims was the tweet’s subject line.
“The account owner has 3,000 followers, some of whom are robbers who flaunt their firearms in public and dress in police or military garb.
“Insurgents can now freely promote their terror campaign on the Tiktok platform without facing any restrictions.”
A study on abduction in the nation, however, revealed that in the 11 months between July 2022 and June 2023, no fewer than 3495 persons were taken captive in 582 kidnapping-related occurrences across the nation.
According to a research report by SBM Intelligence, at least N5 billion ($6,410,256 as of June 30, 2023) have been recorded as ransom demands; verifiable ransom payouts totaled N302 million ($387,179), or 6% of the total sum sought during the review period.
It was observed that kidnappers sometimes choose to demand non-monetary ransom in the form of food, particularly in the Northwest and North Central regions, which have shown a higher number of in-kind (non-monetary) ransom demands. Additionally, it was noted that kidnap dynamics vary between individual and community cases, with secrecy being less common in larger-scale abductions.