The Federal Government on Monday raised fresh concerns over the growing abuse of digital platforms in Nigeria after Google, TikTok and LinkedIn confirmed the deactivation of more than 28 million fraudulent accounts linked to Nigerian online actors within one year.
The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi, who disclosed this in Abuja, warned that the scale of deception uncovered by the platforms shows that social media is increasingly being weaponised to defraud individuals, impersonate professionals, inflame crises and spread harmful content.
Abdullahi spoke at a symposium on digital innovation and crisis communication organised by the Centre for Crisis Communication.
Giving a breakdown of the figures, the NITDA boss revealed that: Google shut down 9,680,141 accounts ; LinkedIn removed almost 16 million accounts ; and TikTok deactivated an unspecified but “very high volume” of abusive accounts
He described the LinkedIn figure as “outrageous”, noting that the platform is globally regarded as a professional networking hub.
“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. Yet people use it for impersonation and social engineering to defraud organisations and individuals.”
Beyond account deletions, Abdullahi disclosed that big technology companies removed 58.9 million pieces of harmful content connected to Nigeria during the same period.
At least 420,000 posts were restored after appeals or internal reviews.
The NITDA DG said the removals were results of strengthened cooperation between Nigeria’s regulatory agencies and global tech giants aimed at tackling: Disinformation ;Online scams; Extremist propaganda ;Coordinated digital manipulation and Impersonation crimes.
Abdullahi, however, warned that while harmful content must be removed quickly, governments must avoid using takedown systems to silence dissent 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, insisting on transparent and rights-driven reinstatement processes.
He added that enhanced collaboration has improved communication between the platforms and Nigerian authorities, supporting key reforms such as the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation, which later transformed into the Nigerian Data Protection Commission.
Representing the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, the DG of the Voice of Nigeria, Jibrin Ndace, said technological innovations must be channelled toward strengthening crisis communication rather than fuelling divisions.
“It is not only the insecurity that we battle, but also the narrative that frames the insecurity,” he said, stressing that information now influences public perception and national stability more than ever.
Chairman of the Centre for Crisis Communication, Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade (retd.), described crisis communication as a national security asset, noting that modern emergencies unfold at the speed of social media.
He cautioned that survival in crisis situations increasingly depends on: access to verified information ; Rapid institutional response ; Public ability to react promptly
The revelations come at a time Nigeria is grappling with: expanding cybercrime networks ; Professional impersonation rings ; High-volume social media scams ; Politically coordinated misinformation campaigns
Digital safety experts say the latest figures confirm fears that Nigeria’s online space is becoming a battleground for fraudsters, propagandists and coordinated influence operations.
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