Key points
- Two Nigerians, Adebola Festus Adekunle, 26, and Mudasiru Afeez Olawale, 24, have been extradited to the United States to face federal charges over alleged sextortion schemes targeting American minors.
- The suspects were arrested separately in Nigeria in August 2023 following an international investigation led by the FBI.
- U.S. authorities said the cases form part of Operation Artemis, an initiative targeting financially motivated sextortion networks operating from Nigeria.
Main story
Two Nigerians have been extradited to the United States to face federal prosecution over alleged financially motivated sextortion schemes targeting American minors.
The suspects, Adebola Festus Adekunle, 26, and Mudasiru Afeez Olawale, 24, were arrested separately in Nigeria in August 2023 following an international operation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The U.S. Department of Justice said the suspects were extradited on Thursday and appeared separately before federal courts in Mississippi and North Carolina on Friday.
The extraditions followed years of cooperation between U.S. investigators and Nigerian authorities, with the Department of Justice acknowledging the support of Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagnemi (SAN), the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The department said the assistance provided by Nigerian security authorities was essential to bringing the suspects before U.S. courts, while its Office of International Affairs and the FBI Legal Attaché Office in Abuja coordinated the international transfer.
FBI Director Kash Patel described Adekunle and Olawale as “two high-value targets” who had been returned to the United States to face prosecution over alleged financially motivated sextortion of minors.
“Two Nigerian subjects arrested in Nigeria in 2023 – Adebola Festus Adekunle and Mudasiru Afeez Olawale – have now been returned to the United States.” — Kash Patel, FBI Director
Patel said the suspects allegedly participated in sextortion schemes that targeted minors and had devastating consequences for young victims, adding that the FBI and Department of Justice had worked to bring them back to the United States.
“They’ve been overseas for three years but this FBI and our DOJ partners went and got them.” — Kash Patel, FBI Director
He described sextortion as a serious crime in which perpetrators often use deception, intimidation and threats to target vulnerable young people.
“Sextortion is a heinous crime targeting innocent people, often young children.” — Kash Patel, FBI Director
Financially motivated sextortion typically involves offenders deceiving victims online into sharing intimate images and subsequently threatening to distribute the images unless money is paid.
The FBI said perpetrators often impersonate young people and approach victims through social media platforms, messaging applications, online games and other digital communication services.
The agency has also warned that sextortion can escalate rapidly, leaving victims facing fear, humiliation and psychological distress.
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the two suspects were arrested in Nigeria as part of a wider operation targeting alleged sexual extortionists who preyed on minors in the United States.
“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.” — Todd Blanche, U.S. Attorney General
Blanche said the United States had strengthened international law-enforcement partnerships to dismantle criminal networks allegedly involved in financially motivated sextortion.
He said such networks had been linked to “dozens of American teen deaths by suicide”, highlighting the severity of the crime and its consequences for victims.
The cases are part of Operation Artemis, an FBI initiative targeting financially motivated sextortion networks operating from Nigeria.
Under the operation, U.S. authorities deployed agents, analysts and forensic specialists to Nigeria to work with domestic and international law-enforcement partners.
Adekunle and Olawale are presumed innocent unless and until prosecutors prove the charges against them beyond reasonable doubt in court.
The issues
The extraditions highlight the international nature of financially motivated sextortion, with U.S. authorities pursuing alleged offenders operating across borders and working with Nigerian agencies to bring suspects before American courts.
The cases also form part of broader efforts by U.S. law-enforcement agencies to disrupt sextortion networks targeting minors online.
What’s being said
“Two Nigerian subjects arrested in Nigeria in 2023 – Adebola Festus Adekunle and Mudasiru Afeez Olawale – have now been returned to the United States.” — Kash Patel, FBI Director
“Sextortion is a heinous crime targeting innocent people, often young children.” — Kash Patel, FBI Director
“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.” — Todd Blanche, U.S. Attorney General
What’s next
Adekunle and Olawale will face federal proceedings in the United States, with the cases proceeding separately in Mississippi and North Carolina.
U.S. authorities are also expected to continue investigations under Operation Artemis into financially motivated sextortion networks operating from Nigeria.
Bottom line
Two Nigerians arrested in Nigeria in 2023 have been extradited to the United States to face federal prosecution over alleged sextortion schemes targeting American minors, following a multi-year investigation and cooperation between U.S. and Nigerian authorities.
