The United States Department of Justice has announced the extradition of two Nigerian men to the United States to face separate criminal charges over alleged financially motivated sextortion of minors, including cases linked to the deaths of teenagers in Mississippi and North Carolina.
The US Embassy in Abuja disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday, saying the two suspects, who were arrested in Nigeria in 2023, had been transferred to the United States to face prosecution.
The suspects were identified as Adebola Festus Adekunle and Mudasiru Afeez Olawale.
According to the statement, the arrests were part of a broader operation involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Nigerian law enforcement agencies targeting individuals allegedly involved in the online sexual extortion of minors in the United States.
US Attorney General Todd Blanche said the suspects had been pursued as part of efforts to dismantle international criminal networks involved in sextortion schemes targeting American children.
“The defendants were arrested in Nigeria as part of a wider operation with the FBI to apprehend sexual extortionists targeting minors in the United States,” Blanche said.
Adekunle is facing multiple charges, including sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death, production of child sexual abuse material, coercion and enticement of a minor, and interstate threats made with the intent to extort.
Olawale, meanwhile, faces charges relating to the sexual exploitation of minors, coercion and enticement of minors, distribution of child sexual abuse material and other related offences.
The US authorities said the suspects had remained outside the United States for several years before being brought back to face the charges against them.
The Justice Department said the extraditions reflected the Trump administration’s commitment to combating the sexual exploitation of children and pursuing perpetrators regardless of where they are located.
“We have strengthened our international law enforcement partnerships to dismantle the foreign criminal networks behind financially-motivated sextortion and identify and prosecute the perpetrators of child sexual exploitation who are directly linked to dozens of American teen deaths by suicide,” the department said.
FBI Director Kash Patel described the two suspects as high-value targets who had been returned to the United States through the agency’s foreign custody transfer process.
“Today’s announcement represents two more high-value targets returned to the U.S. by this FBI through Foreign Transfers of Custody,” Patel said.
He described sextortion as a “heinous crime” that frequently targets vulnerable victims, particularly children, and pledged that the FBI would continue pursuing individuals accused of exploiting minors.
“Sextortion is a heinous crime targeting innocent people, often young children – and this FBI will stop at nothing to pursue every single individual who harms vulnerable Americans,” Patel said.
The US Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, Dan Bishop, said the extradition demonstrated the authorities’ determination to pursue justice for victims, regardless of how much time had passed since the alleged offences.
“Today’s announcement makes clear that we will not rest in our pursuit of justice for victims of sextortion: Three years after the indictment, and almost five years since the conduct occurred, the defendant will finally appear in a U.S. court to face the charges against him,” Bishop said.
He expressed appreciation to the law enforcement officers, prosecutors and other officials involved in securing the suspect’s extradition.
“We are grateful to all the agents, attorneys, and others whose tenacity and steadfast pursuit of justice contributed to the defendant’s extradition,” he added.
Special Agent in Charge Reid Davis of the FBI’s Charlotte Field Office said financially motivated sextortion could have severe and lasting consequences for victims and their families.
“These schemes often begin with threats and manipulation, but their impact extends far deeper — causing emotional and psychological devastation,” Davis said.
He said the extradition underscored the FBI’s determination to pursue alleged perpetrators internationally and ensure that those accused of causing harm to vulnerable victims are brought before the courts.
“The extradition of this suspect proves the FBI’s commitment to pursue those who exploit vulnerable individuals, wherever they may be, and ensures they are held accountable for the profound and lasting damage they cause,” Davis added.
The Justice Department said the cases form part of its broader efforts to strengthen international law-enforcement cooperation and disrupt overseas criminal networks accused of targeting children in the United States through financially motivated sextortion.
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