Two Nigerian Men Extradited to US Over Teen Sextortion Deaths
Two Nigerian men, 26-year-old Adebola Festus Adekunle and 24-year-old Mudasiru Afeez Olawale, arrive in the United States after extradition to face charges tied to sextortion schemes that prosecutors say result in the deaths of two teenagers in Mississippi and North Carolina. The men face charges including sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death, production of child sexual abuse material, coercion and enticement of minors, and distribution of child pornography. The most serious charge carries a minimum penalty of 30 years in prison, and both men face a maximum of life behind bars.
The two suspects are arrested in Nigeria in August 2023 as part of "Operation Artemis," a joint international law enforcement effort aimed at dismantling sextortion rings operating from Nigeria that target minors in the United States and around the world. Sextortion is a form of online blackmail in which criminals threaten to leak nude images or videos they steal through hacking or obtain through coercion. In some cases, criminals sell stolen content on criminal marketplaces or share victims' personal information with others who use it to apply further pressure.
FBI Director Kash Patel says the bureau and its Justice Department partners pursue the suspects even after three years overseas, vowing that the FBI "will stop at nothing" to go after anyone who harms vulnerable Americans. The FBI continues to warn that cybercriminals are targeting children's and adults' social media accounts to steal explicit material for blackmail. The agency urges anyone receiving sextortion threats to contact law enforcement immediately and to stop all interaction with the criminals.