TikTok blackout hits northern parts of Nigeria

TikTok users in the northern states of Nigeria have been struggling to access their accounts for over a month, unbeknownst to the government and TikTok.

Some users of TikTok in northern states of Nigeria such as Gombe, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kano, Yobe, Zamfara and Sokoto have not been able to access the social media platform since last month.

While Tiktok acknowledged the current situation being experienced in the northern parts of the country it denied being involved, the MNOs are yet to comment, and the government has remained mum.

No concrete reason has been given for the lack of TikTok access, but some users of the social media platform have argued it might be a political move since Nigeria's general elections are scheduled to take place early next year.

The current governing political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) currently governs 18 out of the 19 northern states, which is half of the states in the country, which has prompted public debate alleging that the APC doesn't want its stronghold disrupted.

Related:TikTok, Google work to build safer digital ecosystems

Civil society organizations including Accountability Lab Nigeria, Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, Digital Africa Research and Safety Lab, DigiCivic Initiative, Gatefield, Hope Behind Bars Africa, Media Rights Agenda, Paradigm Initiative, RACE Africa, Spaces for Change, TechHerNG and Techsocietal have called on the government to investigate.

The organizations cited that there is no concrete evidence that a network routing problem, a platform-side malfunction, a traffic management measure, or an intentional restriction is behind the TikTok inaccessibility.

In an interview with Connecting Africa, Adewunmi Emoruwa CEO of Gatefield said the current incident is similar to what transpired in 2021 when the government disrupted the services of online investigative newspaper, Peoples Gazette, due to its exposés, making it difficult for its consumers to access its content as well as a Twitter ban in the same year.

"The evidence indicates stealth throttling targeted at key areas of public resistance, such as Kano and Kaduna, likely serving as a test run for broader digital suppression ahead of the 2027 elections," Emoruwa claimed.

In addition, Emoruwa said TikTok is an exceptionally effective platform for political commentary and grassroots organizing among the youth in northern Nigeria, forcing civil society to expend critical resources to establish how the block occurs rather than challenging why it is happening.

Related:TikTok launches STEM feed for Africa’s youth

"This stealth throttling is likely being used as leverage to compel ByteDance (owner of TikTok) into accepting localized censorship guidelines or local registration demands like we have seen the government demand during the Twitter ban," added Emoruwa.

Furthermore, Oluwaseyi Adefemi, the board chairperson at Techsocietal told Connecting Africa that when TikTok is disrupted for an extended period, it raises legitimate questions about digital rights, accountability and equal access to the Internet.

"TikTok has now stated that it did not implement the restriction however, one needs to be careful not to attribute the disruption to any particular actor without evidence. The immediate priority should be an independent technical investigation that establishes what has happened, and provides a clear path towards restoring normal access," said Adefemi.

According to DataReportal, in late 2025, Nigeria had 47.8 million TikTok users aged 18 and above, making it the country's most used social media platform.

Northern states such as Kaduna and Katsina are amongst the states with the highest population in the country which parallels to a higher TikTok user rate.

Related:TikTok expands in Kenya, gets unbanned in South Sudan

Although TikTok does not pay Nigerian creators, it allows them to monetize their content through alternative means such as brand partnerships, live gifts, affiliate marketing, TikTok ads and merchandise sales.

For many TikTok users, particularly young people in the northern states, TikTok is their primary source of income.

The lack of access to TikTok is impacting both users and content creators who cannot access the social media platform in northern Nigeria. (Source: Image by ASphotofamily on Magnific)

According to Adefemi, the Nigerian Creator Economy Report estimates that more than 6.3 million Nigerian creators are building communities on TikTok nationally.

He noted that while this does not tell how many creators are in the affected states, it illustrates the scale at which the wider ecosystem depends on the platform for visibility and commercial opportunities.

"The economic impact could be significant, particularly for creators and small businesses that depend on TikTok to reach customers and generate income," said Adefemi.

"However, there is currently no verified estimate of the total revenue lost across Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi and Sokoto. Ultimately, this is not just about losing access to a social media platform. It is about the livelihoods and economic opportunities that increasingly depend on digital platforms," Adefemi told Connecting Africa.

In addition, Emoruwa said the current TikTok impasse immediately halts monetization for local creators and small businesses.

"While VPNs allow access, routing traffic through foreign servers disrupts localized geographic targeting rendering local marketing ineffective," Emoruwa explained.

As it stands, there is no current initiative from either the government or the MNOs to end the challenge, as they have remained silent on the issue.

TikTok users in the affected states have come out with other alternatives by accessing TikTok through VPNs or changing MNOs and Internet service providers.

However, not all the TikTok users have the privilege of changing MNOs or Internet service providers intermittently.

According to Emoruwa, northern Nigeria is a high-stakes voting bloc where TikTok has become a formidable platform for political commentary and satire, as well as organizing.

He noted that throttling the app now acts as a stress test for network-level control ahead of the 2027 elections.

"TikTok's short-form video format bypasses literacy barriers, making it a potent tool for mobilizing millions of young northerners. The government has long complained that social media platforms allow hate speech and material that threatens national security," said Emoruwa.

"By quietly cutting off a massive chunk of TikTok's Nigerian user base, regulators might be using a backdoor economic chokehold to force TikTok into giving state security agencies direct backends for faster content takedown," he claimed.

In addition, Emoruwa said the government is highly unlikely to step in and fix a disruption that achieves their political objectives, especially since they maintain plausible deniability, noting that if the government does formally intervene, it will likely be framed as a regulatory compromise, restoring access only after TikTok agrees to conditions the public might be unaware of.

"A resolution will likely only happen through compelled rectification through decisive court orders, compelling networks, government and coordinated pressure from digital rights coalitions and economic partners warning of impacts on Nigeria's digital economy," Emoruwa told Connecting Africa.

Adefemi said the issue can be resolved, but the first step is to establish what is actually causing the disruption.

"The relevant authorities and telecommunications operators need to work together to determine where the problem lies. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has an important role to play in investigating the network-related concerns and coordinating with the relevant stakeholders," said Adefemi.

"If the disruption is technical, the priority should be to identify and fix the problem. Ultimately, I would expect the government to facilitate a clear and timely resolution. However, restoring access alone is not enough. There must also be transparency about the cause of the disruption and steps to prevent similar incidents from happening again," Adefemi concluded.

Daniel is a freelance writer and African podcaster.