The Senate on Thursday called on security agencies to urgently intensify surveillance and enforcement actions against bandits and terrorists who openly showcase their criminal activities and financial proceeds on social media platforms, particularly TikTok.

The resolution followed a motion sponsored by Senator Sunday Karimi, who represents Kogi West Senatorial District, on the rising wave of bandit attacks and terrorist incursions in Kogi West and other parts of the country.

During deliberations, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, introduced an additional prayer calling for coordinated action by the Nigerian Police Force National Cybercrime Centre and other relevant security agencies to track, monitor and arrest individuals who use social media platforms to publicise criminal operations.

Akpoti-Uduaghan expressed alarm that armed groups were no longer operating covertly but were instead leveraging digital platforms to project influence, flaunt ill-got wealth and, in some cases, carry out public “giveaways” believed to be funded through criminal activity.

Responding to the development, Senate President Senator Godswill Akpabio described the conduct of the suspects as a direct affront to state authority and a troubling display of impunity.

“The Department of State Services should be able to track their movements and arrest them because this is a show of impunity, as if there is no law at all,” Akpabio said.

He warned that the open circulation of videos showing cash displays and criminal activities on social media platforms amounted to a deliberate attempt to ridicule government institutions and undermine public confidence in the country’s security architecture.

“I do not see why we should not have control over the social media space. That idea of showing themselves, showing the cash collected and displaying it is a way of challenging the government,” he added.

The Senate President urged intelligence and security agencies to treat the matter as an urgent national security priority, calling for improved coordination and real-time response to online intelligence.

“I want the security agencies and heads of security services to see this as a major challenge. Whenever anybody finds such content, bring it to the attention of the Senate, and we shall invite the relevant federal authorities to explain why those people have not been apprehended,” he said.