In a chilling new development, a senior security analyst, Bulama Bukarti, has sounded the alarm over Boko Haram’s evolving tactics, revealing that the extremist group is now actively using TikTok and unmanned drones to advance its deadly agenda in Nigeria. This revelation signals a dangerous shift in the group’s operational strategy, blending social media propaganda with sophisticated surveillance technology.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Sunday, Bukarti, a senior fellow at the Extremism Policy Unit of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, disclosed that Boko Haram insurgents have carved out a growing presence on TikTok—streaming live videos, spreading radical ideologies in Hausa, and engaging with followers in real-time.
“Right now, when you go on TikTok, you will see Boko Haram members’ accounts. They host live programmes where they justify violence, field questions, and answer comments,” Bukarti warned.
His concern comes on the heels of a disturbing statement made by Senator Ali Ndume of Borno South, who revealed that over 100 soldiers and 280 civilians had been killed by Boko Haram attacks within the last six months in Borno State alone.
According to Bukarti, Boko Haram’s use of TikTok not only serves as a recruitment and radicalisation tool but also helps the group circumvent traditional media restrictions. In addition to the propaganda war, he stated that the insurgents now possess and operate unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which they deploy to surveil Nigerian military formations in the Northeast.
“We know that Boko Haram now operates unmanned drones. They surveil military camps, and in the last three months alone, we have seen seven attacks on Nigerian military super camps,” he added.
He cited incidents in Sabon Gari and other locations where insurgents reportedly overran military posts, killed and captured personnel, and looted essential supplies—including weapons, food, medicine, and equipment—before retreating into the forest.
This development highlights a broader trend of extremist groups adapting to digital platforms and emerging technologies. Analysts believe this transformation is partly influenced by the Taliban’s recent use of social media and drones in Afghanistan, a playbook that is now being emulated in the Lake Chad region.
Boko Haram, a designated terrorist organization responsible for thousands of deaths and mass displacement in Nigeria since 2009, appears to be entering a new phase of asymmetrical warfare. The group’s growing digital footprint poses complex challenges for Nigeria’s counter-terrorism agencies, who now face the dual task of combating physical and virtual threats.
Cybersecurity experts have urged Nigerian authorities to increase collaboration with social media platforms like TikTok, Meta, and X (formerly Twitter) to monitor and remove extremist content. There is also renewed pressure on the Nigerian military to strengthen intelligence capabilities and invest in counter-drone technologies to neutralise threats in real-time.
As digital spaces become new battlegrounds, analysts are calling for a national framework that integrates counter-terrorism with cybersecurity strategies. They argue that defeating Boko Haram now requires more than boots on the ground—it demands a tech-savvy, intelligence-driven approach that can match the insurgents’ evolving tactics.
Bukarti’s revelation underscores the urgent need for coordinated efforts between the government, tech companies, and civil society to de-radicalise online content, block extremist propaganda, and safeguard national security interests in the digital age.