Nigerian authorities have charged a social media influencer after he published videos criticising the military over alleged poor food rations for troops.
Chidiebere Justice Mark, known online as JusticeCrack, shared the videos with his more than 623,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram platforms.
The clips, posted last month, included screenshots of conversations he said he held with soldiers stationed in Maiduguri in northeastern Nigeria.
Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, lies at the heart of a prolonged jihadist insurgency that has scarred the region for years.
One video showed a modest meal of rice, powdered milk sachets, chocolate, meat, an egg, and soup, which Mark described harshly.
He claimed the images were sent directly by serving troops, echoing longstanding complaints among soldiers about inadequate supplies and difficult frontline conditions.
In legal filings dated Monday, lawyers for the Department of State Services described the videos as false and potentially destabilising to public order.
Authorities allege the content could incite fear and unrest, accusing Mark of posting material intended to provoke annoyance, ill will, and hatred.
The army confirmed Mark’s arrest over the weekend, adding that the soldiers involved in the communications were now in military custody.
Military spokesperson Appolonia Anele suggested the influencer’s actions appeared aimed at stirring discontent within the ranks during an active security crisis.
Nigeria’s insurgency, ongoing since 2009, has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced roughly two million across the country’s troubled northeast.
The case now unfolds at a tense intersection of national security concerns, freedom of expression, and the lived realities of soldiers on the front lines.
