Nigerians extradited to US for sextortion, deaths of two teens

Two Nigerian men extradited to the U.S. on Thursday have been charged with involvement in sextortion schemes that resulted in the deaths of two minor victims in Mississippi and North Carolina.

Sextortion is a form of online blackmail in which cybercriminals threaten victims with leaking nude images and videos they stole (through hacking) or obtained (through coercion).

In some cases, they may also sell the stolen content on criminal marketplaces or share the victims' personal information (including names, dates of birth, emails, phone numbers, and social media usernames) with other criminals, who can use it to further pressure them into providing additional private images and videos.

26-year-old Adebola Festus Adekunle and 24-year-old Mudasiru Afeez Olawale were both arrested in Nigeria in August 2023 as part of "Operation Artemis," a joint international law enforcement action that targets sextortion rings operating from Nigeria who prey on minors in the United States.