Nigerian Bandits Live In Plain Sight, Operate TikTok Accounts

Footages showing yet-to-be-identified bandits having fun on the video-making app, Tiktok are trending on social media.

An X user, Murtala @Murtalaibin tweeted about the development on Sunday.

The bandit with the username, 8184049848275, shared various videos of himself wielding a gun, while entertaining his followers on the platform.

The bandit who identified himself as Captain Ibrahim, is reported to have security agents among his followers, with concerned Nigerians alerting security operatives over the activities ongoing on his page.

Osun Defender also gathered that one of the bandits pictured in his videos formerly had a TikTok account with the username 8177470767923 but has deleted the account, according to an online platform, Naija News.

Some Nigerians who expressed their disappointments and concern with the development wondered why the Nigerian Security agencies have not been able to nip crime in the bud and arrest the bandits, even with the linkage of the National Identity Number (NIN) to their mobile telecommunications numbers/lines. 

Below are some of the views of Nigerians on the development.

@JEFFSON013 wrote: ‘’So Bandits wan Turn Influencers keh.’’

Adetutu Balogun, MBA wrote: ‘‘Yet DSS can’t locate them… NIN in the potopoto !”

@engr__ibm said: ‘’Before you rush to TikTok to confirm for yourself just know that TikTok has a footprint meaning the user can see who and who visited his page, as you are checking him out he also can check you out. Stay cautious.’’

‘’Very likely state sponsored banditry. Security forces and the military know about these people. They are ensuring insecurity continues to fester to increase the budget for defence. Terrible!!”” – @KenWiwa4

@TheWesternville wrote: ‘’See as the wereys skin fresh for bush , you only get that kind of skin when you’re a millionaire.”

Hon. Abubakar Sadiq wrote: “But Security operatives can arrest Aminu, IPOB members, Online Critics, Yahoo boys. But not these misguided folks. What A Nation?!”@OfficialDSSNG @PoliceNG”

@Ayo_Yele said: Bandits get TikTok account before me bawo?

Alexx wrote: ”Where is that police officer who said they can track down anybody in any part of the world? See Bandit for TikTok. Why not start your tracking from here?”

Chidume wrote: ‘‘One police officer once told us on Twitter that Nigerian police can track anybody. FG under the APC government forced Nigerians in the peak of COVID-19 to register for NIN to help check insecurity. So unfortunate that today, bandits are even buying data to TikTok without fear.”