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Social Media and State-Of-The-Art Technology:Viable Tools to Combat
Insecurity andTerrorism
By
Don Okereke(Security Analyst & Consultant)
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Social Media and State-Of-The-Art Technology: Viable Tools to CombatInsecurity and Terrorism
ByDon Okereke
Social Media are internet or Phone based applications that enable people to
communicate, share resources and information in real time. Social Media, Open Source
Analysis/Softwares and Crowd Sourcing (obtaining needed services, ideas, o
information by soliciting contributors from a large group of people especially from an
online community rather than traditional sources) have immensely revolutionized the
way information and knowledge are generated and disseminated.
Social media is like a two-edged sword: it can be a threat to National Security and also
has the propensity to tone up National Security if well reined in. Facebook and Twitte
are inadvertently effective tools for organizing protests. Both played major roles during
the Arab Spring.
There is no gainsaying the huge potentials and impact of Social Media and State-of-the
art technology in the fight against Insecurity, Terrorism and other social vices.
According to Internet World Statistics about 45.04 million people use the internet in
Nigeria. This places Nigeria on the 11 th position in the world after France. With a
population of about 170 million people, Nigerias Internet penetration ratio is put a
26.5%. Currently there are about 5,288,960 FaceBook monthly Active Users in Nigeria
(MAU). 69% of American adults use Social Media.
Social Media Platforms- Facebook, Twitter, Hi5 etc can be a great feedbac
mechanism allowing members of the public to interface with the security agencies
Through these less formal channels, the citizenry can air their views, make enquiries
and offer useful information and suggestions while remaining anonymous if they so wish
Social Media can be used to sniff out signs of hostility by collecting, collating and
analyzing information or messages in other to prognosticate certain scenarios. Fo
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instance programs such as Open Source Indicators (OSI) or Open Sourc
Intelligence (OSINT) data sources extracts andanalyzes data from Social Media with
the goal of monitoring and forecasting when National Security related events such as
political crises, protests; emergencies etc are likely to occur. On the other hand, Dee
Packet Inspection (DPI) technology allows Internet Service Providers, to manag
network traffic and suppress unwanted connections. Civil right groups have an axe to
grind with the aforementioned technologies because, they contend, it is doable fo
censors to identify single users and to look into every single Internet Protocol packet and
subject it to special treatment based on content (censored or banned words) or type
(email, VoIP or BitTorrent Protocol).
Social Media can also be deployed to strengthen a countrys geopolitical position and its
international credibility and to counter an adversarys propaganda. Hence Social Mediacan be a good Defence and Intelligence monitoring and predicting tool.
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is understood to have an
automated system that constantly monitors any publicly entered information for a list o
about 500-750 keywords that deal with National Security. The Central Intelligenc
Agency (CIA) is believed to use Social Media to gauge how people feel by analyzing
millions of Tweets, blog posts and Facebook updates from around the world. They sawthe uprising in Egypt coming. Twitter also helped the CIA to give White House a
snapshot of global public impression after Bin Laden was killed in Pakistan.
The Canadian Mounted Police Deputy Chief Constable-Gordon Scobbie encourage
Police formations across Canada to use Social Media both for community outreach and
operations. According to him, through Social Media, citizens can find out who thei
community constables are, how to contact them and what the local priorities are.
In the United Kingdom, the MI5 and Government Communications Headquarter
(GCHQ) used Social Media to trawl for riot organizers and mobilizers during the
widespread riots that engulfed London, Birmingham, Manchester and other locations.
was reported that BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) played a major role in spreadin
information about the riots because it allows users to send a message free of charge to
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a network of contacts connected by BBM Pins. It is believed that GCHQ computers
and listening devices can pick up audio messages and BBM communications, identify
where they have been sent from and their final destination.
Officers of the London Metropolitan Police Computer Unit are known to trawl popula
internet chat rooms sniffing out child sex offenders, pedophiles, criminals and terrorists.
It appears Nigeria is striving not to be left out in the grand scheme of things. Nigerian
authorities seem to have upped the ante with the recent $40 million internet monitoring
and surveillance contract allegedly awarded to an Israeli firm. There has been a lot o
hullabaloo in Nigeria over this development. Some time ago researchers at the Mun
School for Global Affairs at the University of Toronto alerted the world that Nigeria
Egypt, and Kenya were deploying Internet surveillance and censorship technology.
Social media is the in-thing now. To underscore the growing importance and recognitio
of Social Media in our everyday life, the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) recently gave Companies the go-ahead to use Social Media fo
official announcements.
If properly harnessed and deployed, Social Media has tremendous potentials in terms o
Intelligence gathering and keeping abreast of goings-on in the society.
Bring to mind that many of the insurgency, terrorist cells and criminal organizations are
Internet savvy and have online presence- they issue online Press Releases via websites
such as YouTube amongst others. Through their online presence, they cannot avoid no
leaving online forensic fingerprint trails no matter how meticulous and IT savvy they
are. The Internet Protocol (I.P) address of an online interaction or transaction can go a
long way in approximating the geographical location of the Server where the message
originated from.
Undoubtedly there are inherent dangers associated with Social Media or Socia
Networking Platforms. Unwittingly liking a terrorist organization, an individua
classified as a terrorist or a radicalized school of thought may be a subtle invitation to
the prying eyes of Security/Intelligence Agencies. Recall the brutal murder of Miss
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Cynthia Osukogu sometime last year by supposed friends she hooked up with through
one of the social networking platforms. Yes that is one of the negative spin-offs of socia
networking platforms. The gist is that her assailants were also nabbed using the same
social networking technique. From what I gathered regarding this incident, her assailants
sold her BlackBerry mobile phone to someone after they must have mangled her. He
BB Pin number was subsequently used to re-establish contact with the bloke that bough
the phone and he then led investigators to the geezers that sold the Blackberry phone to
him. Brilliant investigation. Beware buying all these second-hand phones especially the
BBs that have unique pin numbers. Like they say in Nigerian parlance: I no follow na
ten thousand naira. I am sure you know what that means? Before you know it, yo
have been paraded on National television as a Suspect or an accessory before or afte
the fact just because you bought a used phone. The damage on your image o
credibility will be difficult to erase even if you manage to exonerate yourself or wriggle
out of it. Moving on.
Just recently, the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) reportedl
issued a warning of an impending resumption of hostilities in the Oil-rich Niger Delta
sequel to the jailing of their supposed leader-Henry Okah by a South African court
MEND believes the Nigerian government connived with their South African counterpar
to put Henry Okah behind bars.
Rather than Nigerias Security Agencies been proactive and take the threat seriously
they promptly waved it aside. Sometime on 6th April 2013, about thirteen Police officer
were hacked to death aftermath of an ambush which MEND claimed responsibility for
The Nigeria Police disputes MENDs claims. Whether it was MEND or not, life has been
snuffed out of 13 Police officers. This would have been avoidable if due diligence was
taken to vigorously analyze the veracity of the Press Release that supposedly emanated
from MEND. The security agencies would have ascertained if the latest message was
consistent with previous messages that emanated from the group? Did it originate from
the ab initio email address that the group were/are known with? Where was the Serve
of that message domiciled? These are some of the questions that would have been
addressed before dismissing the threat. Our bane in this part of the world is that by acts
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of commission or omission, we have a propensity to be reactive than proactive. You
dont bring out kegs to fetch water after the rainfall must have stopped.
As is the case in many advanced countries, it will be a welcome idea if the person o
office of Nigerias National Security Adviser (NSA), the State Security Service (SSS), the
National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) amongst others have dedicated and
functional Facebook, Twitter, Skype accounts through which members of the public can
interface directly with them and proffer solutions.
How can an ordinary Nigerian citizen privy to some sensitive or classified information
circumvent protocol and get the nugget of information to the leadership of these
organizations when the Oga at the top is completely detached and disconnected
from members of the public. This is where Social Media comes in; it dissolve
unnecessary red tape.
On this note, I want to commend the current I.G of Police- Mr. M.D Abubakar for doing
something unprecedented in the annals of law enforcement in the Nigerian terrain by
making his personal phone number public through which Nigerians can reach him
directly devoid of the unnecessary bureaucracy and bottlenecks.
Western Security Agencies- the FBI, CIA, MI5, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
etc no doubt have a better grasp of Social Media and the internet generally than thei
Nigerian counterparts. I stand corrected, I am not aware of the Nigerian State Security
Service (SSS) having a website for instance. Perhaps they dont need it, they are bette
off been heard through their spokeswoman than seen innit?
The need for State-of-the-art Technological Gadgets
Nigerians always moan about the unprecedented Security challenges bedeviling Nigeria
Yes, we have a right to but we must not blame everyone else except ourselves for the
decadence. With staff strength of about 370,000 rank and file, there is no doubt that the
Nigeria Police is over-stretched and overwhelmed by the daunting security challenges
In a country of about 160 million people, this grossly falls short of the United Nations
recommended Police to people ratio of 1:450. Hence rather than passing the buck, it is
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high time we took responsibility, become more security conscious and where possible
invest a little in personal security gadgets. Fortunately there is a proliferation of Security
Gadgets like bug detectors, smoke detectors/fire alarms, portable battery-operated
CCTV Cameras, Metal/bomb detectors, GSM/GPS Car trackers, wireless video doo
phones, wireless pen video/voice recorders, fingerprint/biometric door locks, peppe
sprays etc are cheapo.
Thanks to the increasing penetration of technology, most of the sophisticated
miniaturized surveillance gadgets we see in James Bond movies are now commonplac
and are no longer the exclusive preserve of rich individuals or mainstream governmen
security establishments.
Cases abound in Nigeria of prominent individuals being assassinated with no iota of clue
as to the perpetrators. An affordable Pen Video Camera on the breast pocket of the
victim could have recorded what transpired. A battery-operated portable Table Cloc
CCTV camera in a house, office, shop or an apartment has the capacity to record
goings-on in that vicinity for upwards of 24 hours. A pepper spray has the potency to
temporarily immobilize a potential kidnapper, rapist or even an armed robber. A good
smoke detector/alarm can cost as low as six thousand naira and this can save
properties worth millions of naira.
On a National level, investment in novel technologies will do a far better job than relying
on incompetent manpower. For example, Satellite technology and Internet Protocol (I.P
Networked CCTV Cameras has a better prospect in monitoring or protecting our O
pipelines/installations and strategic national infrastructures rather awarding multi-billion
naira contracts to a battalion of unconventional and incompetent OPC, Egbesu Boys o
ex-Niger Delta militants. The persistent pipeline vandalization and oil bunkering (Nigeriareportedly looses 150,000 barrels of crude oil daily to oil theft) shows that these
vigilantes are inept at doing what they claim they know how to do best.
Security is definitely a money spinning and sapping industry in Nigeria. In 2013, out o
the N4.9 trillion Federal budgets, the Nigeria Police got N319.65bn while N348.91b
accrued to Defence. In addition to this, each of the 36 State governors is entitled to
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N6bn as Security Vote which they dont owe anybody any explanations as to what o
how they expend the largesse.
The deteriorating security situation in the country lends credence to the fact that the
monies allocated to security may not have been judiciously used after all. Simply put, the
money does not trickle down.
Investment in state-of-the-art gadgets like Automatic Number Plate Recognitio
Systems, an encompassing National Crime database and Fingerprint of convicted ex
felons, functional National Forensic Science laboratory, unattended land/ground sensor
for border control etc will go a long way in forestalling wanton insecurity in Nigeria.
To buttress the relevance of the foregoing especially the essence of an efficient borde
control measure; there was this hullabaloo recently of some foreign terrorists supposedl
from Niger Republic been arrested in Lagos. News had it that those guys were promptly
deported to Niger Republic. Is that the solution to the problem? Punch Newspaper o
February 6, 2013 opines that, immigration uncovers 1,487 illegal entry routes to
Nigeria. I think this is a conservative estimate. With the ubiquitous illegal entry points to
Nigeria, I can guarantee that those deported geezers have slipped back to Nigeria
through the Illela-Sokoto border. If Nigeria really means business in fighting insecurity
and terrorism, then we must massively curtail illegal migration by ensuring that ou
massive land, sea and maritime borders are well patrolled and protected.
Conclusion:
National Security Agencies, experts and think tanks must adapt quickly to emerging
technologies such as the Social Media and utilize this tool efficiently to combat Insecurit
and terrorism. In other not to be left out in the grand scheme of things, Nigerian Securit
Agencies must pay greater attention to Social Media and embrace the use of state-of
the-art technologies.
It is not enough to win the war. Serious effort must be geared towards winning the peace
as well. It is very important that the Security Agencies carries the citizenry along in thei
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activities and campaigns. Our approach to security must transcend a pugnacious fire
brigade mentality.
It is not adequate to have accounts with these social networking platforms or a website
those accounts must be functional and the websites must be regularly updated. The rate
of Service delivery in Nigeria especially for public institutions is to say the least, very
poor. The authorities must also ensure that they effectively respond to the questions o
comments of members of the public on their Social Media Platforms or websites.
Using the efforts and capabilities of the aforementioned foreign Security Agencies as a
benchmark or yardstick, can we say in all honesty that we are doing enough in our so
called fight against Insecurity and Terrorism in Nigeria?
Security is a collective responsibility. All hands must be on deck. No individual or country
will make meaningful progress in an atmosphere of unpredictability, insecurity an
instability. Lets make Nigeria great again! I enjoin all Nigerians to Unite Agains
Insecurity and Terrorism. See it, hear it, say it, stop it!!!
Don Okereke
(Security Analyst & Consultant)Abuja, NigeriaEmail: [email protected]: +2347080008285
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mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]