Two extradited to US for alleged child exploitation and s#xtortion

The Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, August 26, facilitated the extradition of the duo of Mudashiru Afeez Olawale and Adebola Festus Adekunle to the United States of America, U.S., to face prosecution for allegedly sexu@lly extorting two teenage boys in the U.S., resulting in their deaths.

A statement from the EFCC says Olawale and Adekunle had been identified in separate investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, in se#tortion schemes targeting male minors, particularly those between the ages of 13 and 17, leading to the deaths of two minors.

The schemes involved the use of Child Sexu@l Abuse Material, CSAM, to extort victims for money through various means, including money remitters, gift cards and cryptocurrency.

The FBI investigations linked the activities of the alleged perpetrators to two separate cases involving American minors, who died by suicide after being subjected to online sexual exploitation and extortion.

The EFCC says in one of the cases, a 13-year-old male victim received a direct message on Instagram from a subject who suggested an exchange of nude photographs.   

‘’Investigations by the FBI revealed that the subject subsequently threatened to disseminate the minor’s photographs to his Instagram contacts and demanded money from him.

It was further revealed that communications reportedly continued despite the minor indicating that he intended to take his own life. The FBI subsequently developed actionable intelligence identifying individuals allegedly involved in the scheme and requested the assistance of the EFCC in identifying, investigating and prosecuting the perpetrators under applicable Nigerian laws.

Following investigations by the Commission, Adekunle was arrested and brought before the Commission.

The Commission says in a similar vein, the FBI also sought the extradition of Olawale over a seven-count charge, including “sexu@l exploitation and attempted sexu@l exploitation of a minor resulting in de@th, enticement and attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexu@l activity, interstate threatening communications, sexu@l exploitation and attempted sexu@l exploitation of a minor, and distribution and attempted distribution of child pornography.”

Consequently, the Commission initiated extradition proceedings against Olawale at the Federal High Court, Lagos Judicial Division, in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/353/2024, before Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa, following a request by the FBI.

The commission says although the Judge refused the application during proceedings on June 10, 2024, the ruling was subsequently appealed by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.

It says on July 7, 2026, the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, in Appeal No. CA/LAG/CV/721/2024, set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court, thereby paving the way for Olawale’s extradition to the U.S.

It says the extradition of Olawale and Adekunle underscores the continued collaboration between the EFCC and the FBI in tackling transnational financial crimes, particularly internet-enabled crimes involving the exploitation of minors and se#tortion.