RismadarVoice Reporters, August 29, 2026
Two Nigerian nationals have been extradited to the United States to face federal charges over alleged financially motivated sextortion schemes targeting American minors.
The suspects, identified as 26-year-old Adebola Festus Adekunle and 24-year-old Mudasiru Afeez Olawale, were arrested in Nigeria in August 2023 during an international investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The United States Department of Justice said the duo were extradited on Thursday and appeared separately before federal courts in Mississippi and North Carolina on Friday.
The suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
The extradition followed several years of cooperation between American investigators and Nigerian authorities, according to the US Justice Department.
The department acknowledged the assistance of Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
It described the cooperation provided by Nigerian authorities as essential to securing the suspects’ transfer to the United States.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the FBI Legal Attaché Office in Abuja also coordinated the extradition process.
FI Director, Kash Patel, described Adekunle and Olawale as “two high-value targets” who had been returned to the United States to face prosecution.
“Two Nigerian subjects arrested in Nigeria in 2023, Adebola Festus Adekunle and Mudasiru Afeez Olawale, have now been returned to the United States,” Patel said.
According to him, the suspects allegedly participated in financially motivated sextortion schemes involving minors, with the cases having severe consequences for some of the victims.
Patel described sextortion as a serious crime in which perpetrators exploit vulnerable individuals, particularly children and teenagers, through deception, intimidation and threats.
The US Attorney General, Todd Blanche, said the suspects were among individuals arrested in Nigeria as part of a broader FBI-led operation targeting alleged sexual extortionists preying on American minors.
“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.
He added that the United States was strengthening international law-enforcement partnerships to disrupt criminal networks allegedly operating across borders.
Blanche further linked financially motivated sextortion networks to numerous cases involving American teenagers who died by suicide, highlighting the devastating impact of the crime.
Financially motivated sextortion generally involves criminals establishing contact with victims online and manipulating them into sharing intimate images or information.
The perpetrators then threaten to distribute the material unless the victims provide money or comply with other demands.
The FBI said offenders frequently pose as young people and approach potential victims through social media platforms, messaging applications, online gaming services and other digital communication channels.
The agency warned that such schemes can escalate quickly, leaving victims experiencing fear, humiliation and severe emotional distress.
The extradition of Adekunle and Olawale was carried out under Operation Artemis, an FBI initiative targeting financially motivated sextortion networks allegedly operating from Nigeria.
As part of the operation, US investigators deployed agents, analysts and forensic specialists to Nigeria to work with domestic and international law-enforcement agencies in investigating the alleged criminal networks.
