Two Nigerian citizens have been extradited to the United States to face charges connected to online sextortion scheme which prosecutors said led to the deaths of two American teenagers.
The US Department of Justice announced the extraditions of 26-year-old Adebola Festus Adekunle from Lagos State, and 22-year-old Mudasiru Afeez Olawale, following a joint operation between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Nigerian authorities.
Both accused persons were arrested in Nigeria in August 2023 and handed over to the US custody on August 27, 2026.
Announcing the extradition, FBI Director, Kash Patel, said, “Two Nigerian subjects arrested in Nigeria in 2023, Adebola Festus Adekunle and Mudasiru Afeez Olawale, have now been returned to the United States to face justice after allegedly participating in financially-motivated sextortion of minors, one resulting in the death of a child.”
Adekunle is charged in the Northern District of Mississippi with sexually exploiting a minor resulting in death, coercing and enticing a minor, and making interstate threats to extort money.
As prosecutors pointed out, his case was tied to the death of a Mississippi teenager. As a result, he faces a mandatory minimum of 30 years in prison on the death-resulting charge and a potential life sentence.
Adekunle appeared in federal court in Oxford, Mississippi, on the day of the announcement.
On his part, Olawale faces charges in the Middle District of North Carolina relating to the exploitation of two minors, including one case connected to a teenager’s death, as well as enticement, interstate threatening communications and distribution of child sexual abuse material. He also faces a possible life sentence and had also appeared before a magistrate judge in Greensboro.
US officials described the cases as part of Operation Artemis, an FBI-led effort targeting financially motivated sextortion networks operating out of Nigeria, which the agency said it has linked to dozens of teen suicides in the US.
Both Todd Blanche, Attorney-General, and Kash Patel, FBI Director, pointed to the extraditions as evidence of deepening cooperation between US and Nigerian law enforcement, crediting Nigeria’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, the Federal Ministry of Justice, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for their support.
US Attorney Scott Leary, whose office is prosecuting Adekunle, said the investigation stretched back years and involved Mississippi state police, a county sheriff’s office and the FBI before leading agents to Nigeria.
In North Carolina, US Attorney, Dan Bishop, noted that Olawale’s case came nearly five years after the underlying conduct and three years after his indictment.
The extraditions added to a string of recent US enforcement actions against Nigeria-linked sextortion rings, including a separate operation announced some weeks earlier that resulted in 70 arrests, according to Leary.
As Patel explained, sextortion is a heinous crime targeting innocent people, often young children. That was why he said that the FBI “will stop at nothing to pursue every single individual who harms vulnerable Americans.”
He is not alone in that resolve to keep young Americans safe from sextortion. And it also does not matter how long it will take for the long arm of the law to get hold of whoever is involved.
Speaking on the extradition, Bishop, US Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, said, “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. We are grateful to all the agents, attorneys, and others whose tenacity and steadfast pursuit of justice contributed to the defendant’s extradition.”
According to Reid Davis, Agent in Charge of the FBI Charlotte Field Office, financially motivated sextortion inflicts lasting harm on victims and their families.
“These schemes often begin with threats and manipulation, but their impact extends far deeper, causing emotional and psychological devastation. 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 said.
