Two Nigerian nationals have been extradited to the United States to face prosecution in separate sextortion cases involving American minors, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
The defendants, Adebola Festus Adekunle, 26, of Lagos, and Mudasiru Afeez Olawale, 24, were arrested in Nigeria in August 2023 as part of an FBI operation targeting financially motivated sextortion networks accused of exploiting minors in the United States.
According to federal authorities, both cases involve allegations that online sextortion schemes targeting teenagers contributed to the deaths of victims in Mississippi and North Carolina.
Adekunle was extradited to the United States to face charges in the Northern District of Mississippi related to the alleged sextortion of a minor whose death investigators linked to the scheme.
He is charged with sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death, coercion and enticement of a minor, and interstate threats with intent to extort. Adekunle made his initial appearance in federal court in Oxford, Mississippi.
Federal prosecutors said the charge of sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison, while several charges carry potential life sentences.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Jackson Field Office, the bureau’s Violent Crimes Against Children Section and International Operations Division, and the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office.
Olawale was extradited to face charges in the Middle District of North Carolina stemming from allegations involving two minors, including one whose death authorities said was connected to a sextortion scheme.
A federal indictment filed in August 2023 charged Olawale with sexual exploitation of minors resulting in death, enticement of minors, interstate threatening communications, and distribution of child pornography.
He appeared before a federal magistrate judge in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Prosecutors said he also faces potential life sentences, while the exploitation resulting in death charge carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 30 years.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Greensboro Resident Agency and the Surry County Sheriff’s Office.
Part of Broader FBI Operation
The Justice Department said both extraditions stem from Operation Artemis, an FBI initiative focused on financially motivated sextortion rings operating from Nigeria.
Authorities said Adekunle and Olawale were transferred to U.S. custody on Aug. 27 with assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI Legal Attaché in Abuja, and Nigerian law enforcement and justice officials.
U.S. officials said the operation is part of a broader effort to disrupt foreign criminal networks involved in sextortion and other online exploitation schemes targeting American minors.
The Justice Department noted that all charges are allegations and that both defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
