The United States has extradited two Nigerian men for federal prosecution over separate alleged sextortion schemes against minors, including those tied to the deaths of young victims.
The suspects were named by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) as Adebola Festus Adekunle, 26, of Lagos and Mudasiru Afeez Olawale, 24.
The pair were arrested in Nigeria in 2023 and extradited to the United States on Aug. 27, 2026, as part of an international crackdown on financially motivated sextortion networks.
The DOJ said the cases are being prosecuted separately in the Northern District of Mississippi and the Middle District of North Carolina.
The charges include schemes in which juveniles were allegedly sexually exploited and threatened with the release of intimate pictures if they did not pay money.
Adekunle gets life imprisonment
Adekunle was extradited to Mississippi to face charges in connection with the alleged sextortion of a minor whose death prosecutors attributed to the scam.
The 26-year-old is facing accusations of sexual exploitation of a juvenile resulting in death, compulsion and inducement of a minor and interstate threats with purpose to extort.
The U.S. Justice Department stated the sexual exploitation resulting in death accusation carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 30 years in prison while Adekunle could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.
He was arrested in Nigeria on August 14, 2023, as part of a broader FBI investigation that targeted people alleged to have sexually extorted youngsters in the US.
Adekunle was sent back to the United States, and he appeared in federal court in Oxford, Miss.
Olawale Faces Additional Charges
Olawale, 24, was extradited to North Carolina to face charges related to the alleged sextortion of two kids, including a case that led to the death of one of the victims.
In August 2023 he was charged with sexual exploitation of minors, compulsion and inducement, interstate threatening communications and dissemination of child sexual abuse material.
Like Adekunle, Olawale faces the maximum punishment of life in prison, and mandatory minimum prison terms on several crimes if convicted.
Olawale was detained in Nigeria on August 9, 2023, in the same broader law-enforcement investigation.
The FBI connects cases to Operation Artemis
The DOJ claimed the two convictions stemmed from Operation Artemis, an FBI-led attempt to dismantle financially driven sextortion networks operating out of Nigeria.
U.S. authorities said the operation was a cooperative effort between American and international law enforcement to identify those preying on youngsters.
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche stated the United States has bolstered global collaborations to destroy criminal networks engaged in financially motivated sextortion and to safeguard minors from sexual exploitation.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the two individuals were high-value targets who’d been out of the United States for roughly three years before being brought back for prosecution.
Extradition Assisted by Nigeria
The extradition was carried out with the collaboration of U.S. and Nigerian officials.
In particular, the DOJ recognised the help of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Nigeria, the International Criminal Justice Cooperation Department of the Federal Ministry of Justice, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
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The EFCC had earlier disclosed that its Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 helped in the extradition of the two suspects after separate investigations by the FBI.
The cases show the FBI’s resolve to prosecute those who prey on vulnerable youngsters, regardless of where they operate, the agency said.
U.S. authorities said the broader effort against sextortion will continue to target overseas criminal networks who exploit children.
Adekunle and Olawale are alleged to have committed the offences. Both defendants are deemed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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