By Peace Udugba
Two Nigerian nationals have been extradited from Nigeria to the United States to face separate federal charges over alleged financially motivated sextortion of minors, including cases linked to the deaths of teenagers in Mississippi and North Carolina.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Adebola Festus Adekunle, 26, of Lagos, Nigeria, and Mudasiru Afeez Olawale, 24, of Nigeria, were extradited to the United States on August 27, 2026.
The two men were arrested in Nigeria in August 2023 as part of a broader FBI operation targeting individuals accused of sexually extorting minors in the United States.
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the arrests demonstrated the Justice Department’s commitment to protecting children from sexual exploitation and pursuing alleged perpetrators, including those operating outside the United States.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the two suspects had been returned to the United States to face prosecution after allegedly participating in financially motivated sextortion schemes targeting minors.
Mississippi Sextortion Case
Adekunle has been extradited to the United States to face prosecution in the Northern District of Mississippi over the alleged sextortion of a Mississippi minor, which prosecutors say resulted in the victim’s death.
He is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death, production of child sexual abuse material, coercion and enticement of a minor, and interstate threats with intent to extort.
Adekunle appeared in federal court in Oxford, Mississippi, for an initial appearance following his extradition.
According to U.S. authorities, he was arrested in Nigeria on August 14, 2023, as part of the FBI’s wider operation targeting alleged sexual extortionists who preyed on minors in the United States.
If convicted, Adekunle faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, with at least one charge carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison.
The case is being investigated by the FBI Jackson Field Office, the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Section and International Operations Division, and the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Parker S. King is prosecuting the case.
North Carolina Sextortion Charges
Olawale was extradited to the United States to face charges in the Middle District of North Carolina relating to the alleged financially motivated sextortion of minors, including a case involving the death of a minor victim.
He was indicted in August 2023 on charges including sexual exploitation of minors resulting in death, enticement of minors, interstate threatening communications and distribution of child sexual abuse material.
Olawale was arrested in Nigeria on August 9, 2023, as part of the same wider FBI operation targeting alleged sextortionists operating against minors in the United States.
He appeared in federal court in Greensboro, North Carolina, before U.S. Magistrate Judge L. Patrick Auld.
Olawale also faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and mandatory minimum prison terms on at least two charges. The charge involving the alleged sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death carries a minimum sentence of 30 years in prison.
The investigation is being conducted by the FBI Charlotte Field Office’s Greensboro Resident Agency and the Surry County Sheriff’s Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Nee is prosecuting the case.
FBI, Nigeria Cooperate in Extradition
The U.S. Justice Department said the two cases resulted from Operation Artemis, an FBI effort targeting financially motivated sextortion networks operating from Nigeria.
According to the department, FBI agents, analysts and forensic experts were deployed to Nigeria as part of efforts to identify and apprehend alleged perpetrators connected to sextortion schemes targeting American minors.
U.S. authorities said the broader campaign is aimed at dismantling foreign criminal networks involved in financially motivated sextortion and other forms of child exploitation.
Adekunle and Olawale were extradited to the United States on August 27 with assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI Legal Attaché in Abuja and FBI personnel from the Jackson and Greensboro Resident Agencies.
The U.S. authorities also acknowledged the assistance of Nigerian security agencies, particularly the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Federal Ministry of Justice’s International Criminal Justice Cooperation Department, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Officials Warn of Sextortion Dangers
U.S. officials described financially motivated sextortion as a serious crime capable of causing severe and lasting harm to victims and their families.
U.S. Attorney Scott Leary for the Northern District of Mississippi said the Mississippi case involved a child who died, adding that investigators worked with state, federal and international agencies to trace the alleged perpetrator to Nigeria.
U.S. Attorney Dan Bishop for the Middle District of North Carolina said the extradition demonstrated that authorities would continue pursuing justice for victims of sextortion, regardless of how much time had passed or where suspects were located.
FBI officials in Charlotte and Jackson also said international borders would not prevent the investigation and prosecution of individuals accused of exploiting vulnerable victims.
Defendants Presumed Innocent
The U.S. Justice Department stressed that all charges contained in the indictments are accusations and that the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
Authorities urged anyone who is being victimized by sextortion to report the matter to local law enforcement and the FBI.
The FBI also provides information and resources to help parents, caregivers and teachers understand sextortion and protect minors from online exploitation.
