Federal government of Nigeria have extradited two citizens to the United States to face charges of financially motivated sextortion of minors that prosecutors say led to the deaths of two American teenagers.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said its Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 handed over Mudashiru Afeez Olawale and Adebola Festus Adekunle to US officials on Wednesday following separate investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The men are accused of using child sexual abuse material to threaten and extort male minors aged between 13 and 17, demanding payments through money transfer services, gift cards and cryptocurrency.
In one case detailed by the EFCC, a 13-year-old boy received an Instagram message proposing an exchange of nude photographs. Investigators said the sender later threatened to share the images with the boy’s contacts unless he paid money.
“It was further revealed that communications reportedly continued despite the minor indicating that he intended to take his own life,” the EFCC stated. The FBI developed intelligence identifying the alleged perpetrators and sought Nigerian assistance.
Adekunle was arrested in Nigeria after the FBI request. Olawale faces a seven-count indictment that includes sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death, enticement of a minor, interstate threatening communications and distribution of child pornography.
An initial Federal High Court ruling in Lagos rejected Olawale’s extradition in June 2024. The Court of Appeal in Lagos overturned that decision on July 7, 2026, clearing the way for his transfer.
US authorities said Adekunle, 26, of Lagos, is charged in the Northern District of Mississippi in connection with the death of a minor there. Olawale, 24, faces charges in the Middle District of North Carolina linked to the sextortion and death of another teenager.
The transfers underscore growing cooperation between Nigerian and US law enforcement agencies against cross-border cybercrime.
