Bandits flaunt cash online using TikTok livestreams and giveaways
Armed bandits and criminal hoodlums in Nigeria are increasingly using social media platforms, especially TikTok, to flaunt cash, hold livestreams, and fund giveaways to attract attention and build online followings. Investigators say these "cash-flaunting bandits" use money from criminal activities to stockpile arms and ammunition, buy food, and organise social gatherings in forest hideouts. The same funds are also poured into their digital presence, where they display large amounts of cash, luxury items and flashy lifestyles through short videos and live streams. These bandits run regular livestreams on TikTok, where they encourage viewers to join giveaways, follow their accounts, and engage with their content. Some of them have become known online for their flamboyant displays of wealth, even as they remain linked to kidnapping, armed robbery and other violent crimes. The use of social media by these criminal groups has […]