US Extradites 2 Nigerians Over Alleged Sextortion of Minors<\/p>\n
The United States Department of Justice has announced the extradition of two Nigerian men from Nigeria to face prosecution in separate cases of alleged financially-motivated sextortion targeting minors.<\/p>\n
In a statement issued on Tuesday by the U.S. Mission in Nigeria, the suspects were identified as 26-year-old Adebola Festus Adekunle of Lagos State and 24-year-old Mudasiru Afeez Olawale.<\/p>\n
Both men were arrested on August 9, 2023, as part of a joint operation<\/p>\n
According to the statement, Adekunle is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death, coercion and enticement of a minor, and interstate threats with intent to extort.<\/p>\n
He made his initial appearance on Monday in federal court in Oxford, Mississippi. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and mandatory minimum sentences on at least two charges.<\/p>\n
The charge of child exploitation resulting in death carries a minimum penalty of 30 years in prison.<\/p>\n
Olawale, on the other hand, is charged with offenses relating to sexual exploitation of minors, coercion and enticement of minors, distribution of child pornography, and other related offenses.<\/p>\n
He also appeared in federal court in Greensboro, North Carolina, before U.S. Magistrate Judge L. Patrick Auld on Monday. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and mandatory minimum sentences on at least two charges.<\/p>\n
The statement said both cases stem from Operation Artemis, the FBI\u2019s surge against financially motivated sextortion rings operating from Nigeria.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn coordination with domestic and international law enforcement partners, the FBI deployed agents, analysts, and forensic experts to Nigeria to confront perpetrators of these deadly schemes directly linked to dozens of American teen deaths by suicide,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis same focused, multi-agency approach now drives a broader national effort to dismantle the foreign criminal networks behind sextortion and other predatory schemes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adekunle and Olawale were extradited to the U.S. on August 27 with the assistance of the Justice Department\u2019s Office of International Affairs, the FBI Legal Attach\u00e9 in Abuja, and FBI agents from the Jackson and Greensboro Resident Agencies who traveled to Nigeria to take them into U.S. custody.<\/p>\n
The U.S. government commended Nigerian security authorities for their support and assistance in the arrest and extradition of the alleged offenders.<\/p>\n
The Department of Justice reiterated its commitment to protecting children from exploitation and sexual abuse, and warned that it has strengthened international law enforcement partnerships to dismantle foreign criminal networks behind financially-motivated sextortion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
US Extradites 2 Nigerians Over Alleged Sextortion of Minors The United States Department of Justice has announced the extradition of two Nigerian men from Nigeria to face prosecution in separate cases of alleged financially-motivated sextortion targeting minors. In a statement issued on Tuesday by the U.S. Mission in Nigeria, the suspects were identified as 26-year-old […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":152147,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[3414,3413,1744,147],"class_list":["post-152145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-others","tag-alleged-sextortion-of-minors","tag-extradition","tag-nigerians","tag-us"],"yoast_head":"\n