Two Nigerian nationals accused of running online sextortion schemes that led to the deaths of two American teenagers have been extradited to the United States, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has announced.
The Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC handed over Mudashiru Afeez Olawale and Adebola Festus Adekunle to U.S. authorities on August 26, 2026, following separate Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, probes into schemes that targeted male minors aged 13 to 17.
EFCC’s Head of Media & Publicity, Dele Oyewale, disclosed in a statement on Friday that the two men were linked to cases in which perpetrators used Child Sexual Abuse Material, CSAM, to extort victims for money through remittance services, gift cards, and cryptocurrency. Both cases reportedly ended in the suicides of the minors involved after they were subjected to online sexual exploitation and blackmail.
In one case detailed by investigators, a 13-year-old boy was contacted on Instagram by someone who proposed exchanging nude photographs, then allegedly threatened to share the images with the boy’s contacts and demanded payment.
The FBI said the communications continued even after the teenager indicated he planned to take his own life. The bureau’s intelligence work identified suspects and led it to request the EFCC’s help investigating and prosecuting them under Nigerian law.
Adekunle was arrested and brought before the Commission after an EFCC investigation. Olawale faced a seven-count U.S. indictment covering sexual exploitation and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death, enticement of a minor, interstate threatening communications, and distribution of child pornography.
The EFCC’s bid to extradite Olawale was initially rejected by Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Lagos on June 10, 2024. The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation appealed that ruling, and the Court of Appeal in Lagos overturned it on July 7, 2026, clearing the way for his extradition.
The EFCC described the case as an example of ongoing cooperation with the FBI against transnational, internet-enabled crimes targeting minors.
