Abuja – The Nigerian government has transferred 26-year-old Afeez Olatunji Adewale to the United States, where he is set to stand trial over allegations tied to a sexual extortion operation that authorities say contributed to the death of a young man in Pennsylvania. Adewale is the third Nigerian national extradited in connection with the case. U.S. prosecutors have charged him with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lynne A. Sitarski in a federal court in Philadelphia following his arrival.
According to the United States Department of Justice, Adewale was apprehended in Nigeria on August 17, 2023, during a coordinated operation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation aimed at dismantling sextortion networks targeting minors in the United States. He was formally extradited on February 13, 2026, with assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI Legal Attaché in Abuja, and FBI agents who took custody of him upon his arrival in the U.S.
U.S. Attorney David Metcalf credited Nigerian authorities for their significant role in facilitating the extradition. He specifically acknowledged the efforts of Nigeria’s Attorney General of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Justice’s International Criminal Justice Cooperation Department, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Investigators from the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office, its Fort Washington Resident Agency, and the Abington Township Police Department handled the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Brown is leading the prosecution.
Two of Adewale’s alleged accomplices — 27-year-old Imoleayo Samuel Aina, also known as “Alice Dave,” and 26-year-old Samuel Olasunkanmi Abiodun — were extradited earlier, in August 2024. Abiodun later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud. In June 2025, U.S. District Judge Joel H. Slomsky sentenced him to five years in prison. Aina also admitted guilt to multiple charges, including cyberstalking, interstate threats to damage reputation, receiving extortion proceeds, money laundering conspiracy, and wire fraud. In October 2025, Judge Slomsky handed him a six-year prison sentence.
U.S. authorities allege the defendants operated a sextortion scheme that targeted young American males. Victims were allegedly manipulated into sending explicit images, which were then used to threaten and extort money under the threat of public exposure. In recent years, Nigeria has stepped up collaboration with international law enforcement agencies to combat cybercrime, particularly sextortion cases that have drawn widespread global concern. In 2023, Nigerian nationals Samuel Ogoshi and Samson Ogoshi were extradited to the United States over accusations of sexually extorting several 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 for his alleged role in a sextortion network accused of defrauding victims of at least $2 million by posing as women online and threatening to release explicit content. This week, Nigerian authorities, in collaboration with law enforcement agencies from 15 other African nations, announced the arrest of 651 suspected cybercriminals and the seizure of millions of dollars in assets during a coordinated international crackdown.
Despite the allegations, Adewale is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
