The DG warned that the scale of abusive activity uncovered by the platforms exposes the growing weaponisation of social media in Nigeria’s digital space.
The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi, on Monday revealed that three major global technology platforms — Google, LinkedIn and TikTok — deactivated over 28 million accounts within the last one year.
The accounts were deactivated for fraud, impersonation and spreading harmful content, many of them linked to Nigerian online actors.
Abdullahi made the disclosure in Abuja during a symposium on digital innovations in crisis communication organised by the Centre for Crisis Communication.
The DG warned that the scale of abusive activity uncovered by the platforms exposes the growing weaponisation of social media in Nigeria’s digital space.
According to him, Google alone shut down 9,680,141 accounts, while LinkedIn — a platform supposedly reserved for professionals — removed nearly 16 million accounts, a figure he described as outrageous. TikTok also carried out high-volume suspensions, he added.
“Just three platforms — Google, LinkedIn and TikTok — deactivated over 28 million accounts last year,” Abdullahi said.
“LinkedIn removed almost 16 million. For me, this is outrageous because LinkedIn is mostly a professional site. So why are people using it to cause crises and other things? They use it for impersonation and for social engineering to defraud organisations and individuals.”
Beyond account suspensions, Abdullahi disclosed that big tech platforms removed more than 58.9 million pieces of harmful content linked to Nigeria in the same period. At least 420,000 posts were restored following appeals or internal reviews.
He explained that these actions were part of a strengthening collaboration between the Nigerian government and global technology giants to curb disinformation, online scams, extremist propaganda and coordinated digital abuse.
The NITDA DG, however, cautioned that while harmful content must be removed swiftly, governments must not be allowed to weaponise takedown systems to silence critics or suppress minority voices.
“If content is not violating any laws in Nigeria, there is no way we can just say take it down,” he said, emphasising the need for a transparent, rights-respecting reinstatement process.
Abdullahi noted that the collaboration has improved communication between the platforms and Nigerian regulators, supporting reforms such as the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation, which eventually gave rise to the Nigerian Data Protection Commission.
Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, the Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria, Jibrin Ndace, said emerging technologies must be used to strengthen crisis communication, not to inflame tensions or destabilise the country.
“It is not only the insecurity that we battle, but also the narrative that frames the insecurity,” the minister warned, stressing that information dissemination now shapes public perception and national stability.
The Chairman of the Centre for Crisis Communication, Maj Gen Chris Olukolade (retd.), described crisis communication as a strategic national security asset, noting that modern emergencies unfold at the speed of social media and demand equally rapid, verified responses from institutions.
He warned that survival during crises increasingly depends on timely access to credible information, coordinated institutional action and the public’s ability to respond quickly.
The revelations come amid rising concerns over Nigeria’s expanding cybercrime ecosystem, growing impersonation rings targeting professionals, and the widespread use of social media for political propaganda, scams and coordinated misinformation campaigns.
