- Three-year manhunt ends as suspects face federal charges over alleged exploitation of American minors
A three-year international manhunt for two Nigerian nationals accused of operating financially motivated sextortion schemes targeting American minors has ended with their extradition from Nigeria to the United States.
The U.S. Department of Justice said Adebola Festus Adekunle, 26, and Mudasiru Afeez Olawale, 24, were transferred to the United States on August 27, 2026, after being arrested in Nigeria in August 2023 during an FBI operation targeting sextortion networks allegedly operating from the country.
The development highlights growing Nigeria-U.S. cooperation in tackling transnational cyber-enabled crimes, particularly online offences targeting children.
Adekunle, a resident of Lagos, is accused of participating in the financially motivated sextortion of a Mississippi minor whose death followed the alleged exploitation.
He faces federal charges including sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death, production of child sexual abuse material, coercion and enticement of a minor, and interstate threats made with intent to extort.
Olawale is separately charged in North Carolina over the alleged sextortion of two minors, including a case involving the death of one victim.
The Justice Department said both suspects appeared before federal courts following their arrival in the United States.
The cases emerged from Operation Artemis, an FBI-led surge targeting financially motivated sextortion networks allegedly operating from Nigeria and exploiting minors in the United States.
As part of the operation, FBI personnel, analysts and forensic specialists worked in Nigeria to identify suspects, collect evidence and dismantle criminal networks accused of using digital platforms to threaten, manipulate and extort children.
U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the United States remained committed to dismantling foreign criminal networks involved in financially motivated sextortion and bringing alleged child predators to justice.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the operation demonstrated the agency’s determination to pursue alleged perpetrators regardless of where they operate.
The suspects had remained outside the United States for about three years following their indictments, but investigators continued working with Nigerian authorities to secure their transfer.
The U.S. Justice Department specifically acknowledged the role of Nigerian authorities, including the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the International Criminal Justice Cooperation Department of the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
According to the department, the cooperation ultimately enabled FBI personnel to travel to Nigeria and take the suspects into American custody.
The Mississippi investigation involved the FBI Jackson Field Office, its Violent Crimes Against Children Section and International Operations Division, alongside the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office.
The North Carolina case was investigated by FBI Charlotte’s Greensboro Resident Agency and the Surry County Sheriff’s Office.
U.S. authorities described sextortion as a serious crime capable of causing devastating psychological and emotional harm to victims and their families.
The FBI has linked financially motivated sextortion investigations to numerous teenage deaths by suicide in the United States, prompting intensified efforts to disrupt networks involved in the crime.
The extradition underscores the increasingly international nature of online child exploitation, with perpetrators able to operate across borders while using digital platforms to target victims thousands of kilometres away.
For Nigeria, the case further demonstrates the importance of international law-enforcement cooperation in combating cybercrime networks whose victims, proceeds and criminal activities frequently cross national boundaries.
It also sends a warning to suspected cybercriminals that operating from outside the United States may delay prosecution but does not necessarily shield them from eventual transfer to the jurisdiction where alleged offences occurred.
If convicted, Adekunle and Olawale could face maximum penalties of life imprisonment. The sexual exploitation resulting in death charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years.
The U.S. Justice Department, however, stressed that the charges are allegations and that both defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
