Boko Haram Now Active on TikTok, Deploying Unmanned Drones – Security Expert Warns

A senior security analyst, Bulama Bukarti, has raised alarm over the growing presence of Boko Haram on popular social media platforms, particularly TikTok, where the group is now actively disseminating extremist content and propaganda.

Bukarti, a senior fellow at the Extremism Policy Unit of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, made the disclosure on Sunday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today. He warned that the group has not only expanded its reach online but has also begun deploying unmanned drones to monitor military installations in Nigeria’s northeast region.

“Right now, when you go on TikTok, you will see Boko Haram members’ accounts. They host live programmes and live shows where they propagate Boko Haram’s ideology. They justify the group’s violence in the Hausa language, take questions from the audience, and respond to comments,” Bukarti stated.

He cited a recent case in which a Boko Haram member released a 10-minute video on TikTok attacking him personally for his outspokenness against their activities and increasing violence. According to him, the group’s digital shift is part of a broader strategy to recruit and radicalize new followers, especially young, tech-savvy users.

More alarmingly, Bukarti revealed that the group has been conducting surveillance operations using unmanned aerial drones. “We know that Boko Haram now operates unmanned drones. They surveil military formations in the northeast with unmanned drones,” he said.

The security expert’s warning comes shortly after Senator Ali Ndume (Borno South) decried the loss of 100 soldiers and 280 civilians to Boko Haram attacks within six months in Borno State.

Bukarti further reported that within the past three months alone, Boko Haram insurgents launched more than seven attacks on military super camps, including those in Sabon Gari and other regions. In these assaults, insurgents reportedly overran bases, killed or captured troops, and looted weapons, food, medical supplies, and military equipment before fleeing into remote forest hideouts.

Bukarti, who has studied Boko Haram’s operations for over a decade, called for more proactive counter-terrorism efforts both online and in physical combat zones. He urged the Nigerian government and security agencies to strengthen surveillance and block the digital spaces now being exploited by insurgents to spread extremist ideology.