Two Nigerian men have been extradited to the United States to face prosecution over separate allegations of financially motivated sextortion involving minors.
The U.S. Justice Department said 26-year-old Adebola Festus Adekunle from Lagos State and 24-year-old Mudasiru Afeez Olawale were arrested in Nigeria as part of a wider FBI operation targeting sextortion networks preying on minors in the United States.
Adekunle faces charges including sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death, coercion and enticement of a minor, and interstate threats with intent to extort.
He appeared before a federal court in Oxford, Mississippi, on Monday and could face life imprisonment if convicted.
Olawale is facing charges related to the sexual exploitation of minors, coercion and enticement, distribution of child pornography and other offences.
He appeared before a federal court in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Monday.
The Justice Department said both cases resulted from Operation Artemis, an FBI-led effort targeting financially motivated sextortion rings operating from Nigeria.
The operation involved FBI agents, analysts and forensic experts working with Nigerian law enforcement authorities to identify and apprehend suspects linked to sextortion cases involving American teenagers.
Adekunle and Olawale were extradited to the U.S. on August 27 with assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the FBI Legal Attaché in Abuja.
The U.S. government commended Nigerian authorities for their cooperation in the arrests and extradition of the two suspects.
