Two Nigerians, Mudashiru Afeez Olawale and Adebola Festus Adekunle, have been extradited to the United States to face charges linked to alleged online se. xual exploitation and se.xtortion of teenage boys.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said the two men were handed over to U.S. authorities on Wednesday, August 26, through its Lagos Zonal Directorate 2.
According to the commission, the suspects were identified during separate investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) into sextortion schemes involving male m!nors, mostly teenagers between 13 and 17 years old.
The investigations were connected to two separate cases involving American teenagers who d!ed by su!.cide after allegedly being se.xually explo!ted and thr.eatened online.
The EFCC said the schemes involved the use of ch!ld se.xual a.buse material to pressure victims into sending money through channels including gift cards, money remitters and cryptocurrency.
the cases, investigators said a 13-year-old boy was contacted through Instagram by someone who proposed exchanging n^de photographs.
The EFCC said the person later thr.eatened to share the boy’s photographs with his Instagram contacts unless he paid money.
The commission said the communication reportedly continued even after the boy indicated that he was considering taking his own life.
Investigations by the FBI revealed that the subject subsequently threatened to disseminate the minor’s photographs to his Instagram contacts and demanded money from him.
It was further revealed that communications reportedly continued despite the minor indicating that he intended to take his own life. The FBI subsequently developed actionable intelligence identifying individuals allegedly involved in the scheme and requested the assistance of the EFCC in identifying, investigating and prosecuting the perpetrators under applicable Nigerian laws.
Following investigations by the Commission, Adekunle was arrested and brought before the Commission.
The FBI later traced the alleged activities to individuals in Nigeria and sought the EFCC’s assistance in identifying and investigating those involved.
The extradition now allows Olawale and Adekunle to face prosecution in the U.S. over the allegations arising from the two cases.
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