Nigeria Extradites 26-Year-Old Adewale To US Over Sextortion Scheme Linked To Teen’s Death

The Nigerian government has extradited a 26-year-old, Afeez Olatunji Adewale, to the United States to face charges linked to a sexual extortion scheme that allegedly led to the death of a young man in Pennsylvania.

Adewale, who is the third Nigerian extradited in connection with the case, is charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lynne A. Sitarski in a federal court in Philadelphia.

In a statement, the U.S. Department of Justice said Adewale was arrested in Nigeria on August 17, 2023, as part of a joint operation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) targeting sexual extortionists who preyed on minors in the United States.

He was extradited on Friday, February 13, 2026, with the support of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI Legal Attaché in Abuja, and the FBI, which took him into custody upon arrival in the U.S.

United States Attorney, David Metcalf, said Nigerian authorities played a critical role in securing the extradition.

“The support and assistance of Nigerian security authorities was essential to this effort, notably that of Nigeria’s 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,” Metcalf said.

According to the Justice Department, the case was investigated by the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office, Fort Washington Resident Agency, and the Abington Township Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Brown.

Adewale’s co-defendants, Imoleayo Samuel Aina, 27, also known by the alias “Alice Dave,” and Samuel Olasunkanmi Abiodun, 26, were previously extradited to the United States in August 2024.

Abiodun pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud and was sentenced in June 2025 by U.S. District Judge Joel H. Slomsky to five years in prison.

Aina later pleaded guilty to cyberstalking, interstate threats to injure reputation, receiving proceeds of extortion, money laundering conspiracy, and wire fraud. In October 2025, Judge Slomsky sentenced him to six years in prison.

The U.S. authorities allege that the defendants were involved in a sextortion ring that targeted young American males, coercing them into sending explicit images and subsequently threatening to release the materials unless payments were made.

Nigeria has in recent years intensified cooperation with international law enforcement agencies in tackling cybercrime, particularly sextortion cases that have drawn global attention.

In 2023, Nigerian nationals Samuel Ogoshi and Samson Ogoshi were extradited to the United States over allegations of sexually extorting multiple teenage boys, including a 17-year-old whose death was linked to the scheme.

Similarly, Olamide Shanu was extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States in 2025 over his alleged involvement in a sextortion network accused of extorting at least $2 million from victims by posing as women online and threatening to publish explicit images.

Just this week, Nigerian authorities, working alongside law enforcement agencies from 15 other African countries, announced the arrest of 651 suspected cybercriminals and the recovery of millions of dollars in assets in a coordinated international operation.

The charges against Adewale remain allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.(SaharaReporters)