The paper explores the multifaceted role of the social media in creating and spreading insecurity stories in the already compromised information environment in Nigeria. It identifies the narratives of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping for ransom and communal violence by a thematic examination of the semi-structured interviews with 20 respondents across different geopolitical zones, examining their encounters, interpretations and transmissions of such narratives. The discussion shows that social media is a two-sided phenomenon: it is a highly critical (but commonly sensationalist) alternative source of news where state communication is lost or distrusted and at the same time, a scene of information warfare where actors use platform affordances to pursue polarized agendas. The enquiry is anchored on two theoretical frameworks, which are Framing Theory and ideas of institutional weakness. The results show that viewers have high-order but haphazard verification behaviour in a curated environment of emotivity, algorithmic preference of confrontation and isolated close-group rumour mills. The research reports a research gap, which is critical to fill in the previous knowledge of the localized, agentic reactions of the Nigerian social media users towards the security-related disinformation. It concludes that spreading insecurity discourses is not a matter of technology but rather a manifestation of deep institutional crises, such as a shortage of official credibility and a failure to communicate strategically. This paper suggests the use of a multi-stakeholder strategy that focuses on improving the public media literacy, introducing responsible platform regulation and most importantly, restoring the state legitimacy through transparency and efficient security delivery.