Nigeria: Two Nigerians accused of "sextortion" of minors extradited to the United States

Nigeria's anti-corruption agency has ordered the extradition to the United States of two Nigerians accused of "sextortion" against two American minors who committed suicide, following investigations by the FBI, the agency announced Friday.

Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, is regularly singled out for the practices of its cyber fraudsters, some of whom specialize in "romance" scams, known in local slang as "Yahoo Boys", but also in sexual blackmail or "sextortion".

The Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has "extradited Mudashiru Afeez Olawale and Adebola Festus Adekunle to the United States of America, where they will face prosecution for allegedly sexually abusing two teenagers in the United States, resulting in their deaths," the agency explained in a post on X.

"FBI investigations have established a link between the activities of the alleged perpetrators and two separate cases involving American minors who committed suicide after being victims of online sexual exploitation and extortion," she explained.

According to the EFCC, a 13-year-old boy received a private message on Instagram from a stranger who offered to exchange nude photos with him.

The unknown man then threatened to release the photos of the minor and demanded money from him, the same source indicated.

"It was further revealed that communications continued even after the minor indicated his intention to end his life," the EFCC stated.

"Sextortion" is on the rise in Africa, Interpol noted in 2025.

Meta, the parent company of Instagram, is currently under fire from numerous governments who accuse it of not adequately protecting minors online.

On Wednesday, the Californian company pledged to limit the use of its social networks to two hours a day for those under 18 and to block their access between midnight and 6 a.m., in about fifty American states and territories.