Crime
Boko Haram’s new video tactics raise national security concerns
Boko Haram’s new video tactics raise national security concerns
By: Zagazola Makama
In an era defined by the rapid evolution of digital technologies, social media has emerged as a powerful tool for public engagement, awareness creation, and communication. However, this same medium has also been weaponised by terror groups such as Boko Haram, particularly its Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’Awati wal-Jihad (JAS) factions, to fuel violent extremism and undermine national security efforts.
Zagazola has been raising alarm following spate of Boko Haram propaganda videos, notably one featuring a youthful and energetic speaker, estimated to be between the ages of 19 and 21, appearing to revive the disbanded rhetoric and style of the late Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau. There were also several platforms on TikTok which job is to propagate and recycle old preaching of Muhammad Yusuf, the Founder of Boko Haram and Abubakar Shekau.
The videos, circulated widely on platforms such as TikTok and Facebook, have not only praised the resilience of the jihadist movement but also openly criticised the Nigerian government and its armed forces.
Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency expert monitoring developments in the Lake Chad region, described the development as “a dangerous trend capable of influencing vulnerable minds, inciting hatred against the state, and reinvigorating terrorism recruitment channels, especially among urban sympathizers.”
One of the central figures in the new video wave is allegedly an ardent follower of Bakura Doro, also known as Abu Ummaima, a senior commander of the JAS faction. However, intelligence observers are questioning the credibility and coherence of his message. “It is strange that an alleged JAS loyalist is speaking on behalf of ISWAP, a rival group that has repeatedly clashed with JAS,” a senior security source noted. “It suggests that the speaker may not be a frontline fighter, but rather an urban propagandist exploiting social media to sow confusion and fear.”
This comes amid heightened security tension in Borno State following renewed attacks by ISWAP on military positions and recent civilian killings in Mallam Karamti and Dawashi areas. In contrast, JAS has maintained a relatively lower profile since their last major confrontation with Chadian troops in 2024.
The disturbing development coincides with a broader national conversation on digital regulation and cyber monitoring, particularly as Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections. Analysts warn that allowing such inflammatory content to thrive online not only emboldens terror groups but also poses grave implications for national stability, as hostile actors may leverage the content to erode public trust in democratic institutions.
“The fact that terror sympathisers can trend such messages unchecked is a glaring indictment of our current digital response capabilities,” Makama said. “These individuals must be tracked, their platforms dismantled, and the content removed without delay.”
There must be an improved coordination among the Nigerian Police, the Defence Intelligence Agency, and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to map out and neutralize digital terror cells.
We must invest in cutting-edge surveillance and artificial intelligence tools to identify these digital propagandists. They are as dangerous as gunmen in the field. The battlefront has shifted; modern warfare is now fought with both bullets and bandwidth,” Zagazola warned.
He added that Nigerian authorities have in the past succeeded in working with global social media giants to remove extremist content. However, experts say the country must now institutionalise a domestic capability to detect, counter, and neutralise online threats in real time.
The National Orientation Agency and the Ministry of Communications are also being urged to scale up counter-narratives, promote digital literacy among citizens, and provide accurate, timely updates to counteract disinformation.
The time has come for Nigeria to treat the digital domain as an active battlefield one that requires as much vigilance, strategy, and firepower as any other theatre of conflict. The war is no longer only in the forests of Sambisa or the shores of Lake Chad; it is also on the screens of millions.
Zagazola Makama is a Counter Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in the Lake Chad Region
End
Boko Haram’s new video tactics raise national security concerns
Gunmen abduct village head’s three children in Kwara
By: Zagazola Makama
Armed bandits have abducted three children of the Village Head of Gamalegi community in Lafiagi Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The Vigilante Commander of Gbugbu Zone, Mr. Suleiman, said the incident occurred on Thursday at about 2:30 a.m., when the attackers invaded the community, shooting sporadically.
He said the gunmen stormed the house of the Village Head, Alhaji Hassan, and whisked away his three children – 15-year-old Aliyu Alhassan, 17-year-old Sheshi Alhassan, and 14-year-old Ibrahim Alhassan.
According to him, vigilantes, soldiers, police and local hunters immediately mobilised and launched a bush-combing operation to rescue the victims and apprehend the perpetrators.
He added that the operation was ongoing as of the time of filing this report.
Gunmen abduct village head’s three children in Kwara
Two killed, two abducted in bandit attack in Zamfara
By: Zagazola Makama
Armed bandits have killed two persons and abducted two others in an attack on Ruwan Bore village, Talata Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
Sources told Zagazola Makama that the attack occurred at about 1:30 a.m. on Monday when a group of armed men invaded the village, shooting sporadically.
“Two persons were shot dead while two others were abducted to an unknown destination,”said the sources.
The sources added that upon receipt of the report, troops of Operation FANSAN YANMA were mobilised to the area in search of the perpetrators and to rescue the abducted victims.
The sources said assured pf efforts track the attackers.
Two killed, two abducted in bandit attack in Zamfara
Fleeing General Overseer arrested in Lagos for cross-border drug trafficking
By: Michael Mike
A fleeing founder and General Overseer of The Turn of Mercy Church, Prophet Adefolusho Aanu Olasele (alias Abbas Ajakaiye) after months underground has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for masterminding multiple shipments of illicit drugs into Nigeria.
A statement by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi said Prophet Adefolusho was arrested at his church located in Okun Ajah, Ogombo road, Lekki area of Lagos on Sunday 3rd August 2025 by NDLEA officers who waited for him since morning to conclude the Sunday worship service in the evening before moving in on him the moment he stepped out of the church premises.
He noted that the arrest came after he had evaded arrest twice and fled to Ghana to hide since June when operatives started trailing him following the seizure of two shipments of Ghana Loud, a strain of cannabis linked to him.
He said the first seizure of 200 kilogrammes of the psychoactive substance was made at Okun Ajah beach on 4th June 2025 while another consignment of 700 kilogrammes of Whitten substance was recovered from his delivery van on 6th July 2025.
He was said to have admitted in a written statement, ferrying the illicit consignments through the waterways from Ghana into Nigeria, adding that he had fled to the West African country to hide after he escaped arrest twice in the recent past.
In another operation in Lagos, NDLEA operatives last Thursday raided an apartment at Kishi House 11 Layi Ajayi Bembe street, Parkview Estate Ikoyi where they arrested a suspect Benjamin Ukoh and recovered 32 pouches of Canadian Loud, a strain of Cannabis with a total weight of 15.63 kilogrammes.
In Nasarawa state, NDLEA operatives last Saturday recovered a large consignment of skunk, a strain of cannabis weighing 3,093 kilogrammes from the trio of Emmanuel Asoquo, 51; Okem Raphael, 33, and Chekwube Odo, 25, at New Karu area of the state.
While 29-year-old Nura Yahaya was nabbed at Geza area of Kumbotso Kano State with 639 blocks of skunk weighing 359 kilogrammes last Friday, another suspect Umar Adamu Umar, 27, was taken into custody last Wednesday by NDLEA officers after seizing 9 kilogrammes of Colorado, a synthetic strain of cannabis from him along Zaria-Kano road, Kano.
In another interdiction operation in Kano, 20,000 pills of tramadol and 200 ampoules of diazepam injection were recovered from a suspect Usman Musa, 30, at Gadar Tamburawa along Zaria-Kano road last Friday.
A raid at an uncompleted building located at Tudun Wadan Pantami in Gombe town, Gombe state last Friday led to the recovery of 550,266 pills of opioids mainly tramadol, while a suspect Usama Isah was arrested.
The following day Saturday another suspect Ibrahim Adamu, 23, was arrested by NDLEA officers along Potiskum road, Bajoga with 50,000 capsules of tramadol.
In Edo state, a white Toyota Hiace bus marked YAB 5522 K coming from Onitsha, Anambra state and heading to Isanlu in Kogi was last Wednesday intercepted at Ewu junction, Edo by NDLEA operatives who after a search recovered 23,940 capsules of tramadol, 1,100 tablets of same opioid and 400 ampoules of pentazocine injection with a suspect Taiye Jethro arrested.
Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), while commending commending the officers and men of the Lagos, Nasarawa, Gombe, Kano, and Edo Commands for the arrests, seizures and their dexterity, enjoined them and their colleagues across the country to continue with the ongoing balanced approach to the drug control efforts of the agency.
Fleeing General Overseer arrested in Lagos for cross-border drug trafficking
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