Nigerians dey face accuse of sextortion for US - Wetin be sextortion and possible jail term for offenders

Two Nigerians don land America to face prosecution on top accuse say dem dey involved in online sextortion schemes wey link to di death of one American teenager, according to di Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

FBI Director Kash Patel for one post on X say di men be "high-value targets from Nigeria" wey dem extradite to di US following separate investigations.

Nigeria anti-corruption agency, di Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), identify dem as Mudashiru Afeez Olawale wey be 24-year-old and Adebola Festus Adekunle.

Di commission bin hand ova di suspects to authorities afta FBI investigations into di alleged exploitation of minors.

For statement on X, di Nigerian corruption police tok say di suspects chop accuse say dem dey target boys aged between 13 and 17, dem use sexually explicit images to demand money through gift cards, bank transfers and cryptocurrency.

According to EFCC, one case involve one 13-year-old boy wey pesin contact on Instagram and ask am to ask am to send nude fotos. Later di pesin begin threaten di boy say im go share di fotos on social media, if e no pay money.

"Di threats bin continue even afta di teenager tok say im go kill imsef," EFCC tok.

Oga Patel allege say "one of these alleged schemes don result in di death of a child".

EFCC say di FBI later seek assistance from Nigerian authorities in identifying and investigating dos wey allegedly dey involved, and add say dia investigation lead to Adekunle arrest.

Di agency say di second suspect, Olawale, dey wanted for US under one seven-count indictment.

According to di US govment, di charges include allegations of sexual exploitation of a minor wey result in death, attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, enticement of a minor, threatening communications plus di distribution of child sexual abuse material.

Im extradition bin follow one legal challenge for Nigeria. Di kontri corruption police say di Federal High Court for Lagos bin reject one US extradition request for June 2024, but di Court of Appeal overturn dat decision for July 2026 afta Nigeria Attorney General appeal am.

Di FBI say dem arrest di two men for Nigeria for 2023.

Wetin be sextortion

Sextortion na one kind online blackmail wey scammers dey use threaten and force dia victims to pay money afta dem don use magomago collect intimate fotos and information from dem.

Criminals go trick victims to share sexual images or videos of demsefs and then use dos fotos to threaten, manipulate or extort di pesin, dem go dey demand more money or more explicit material.

Sextortion na one of di fastest-growing cybercrimes. Researchers and law enforcement agencies don identify Nigeria as major hub for dis kain scams.

Di case dey come for di middle of growing international concern about financially motivated sextortion schemes, particularly dos wey dey target teenage boys through social media.

U.S. authorities say many victims dey get messages online from pipo wey pretend to be young women.

FBI tok says reports of sextortion don more dan double ova di past three years, as e reach nearly 55,000 for 2024.

For UK, police record average of 117 cases wey involve under-18s each month dat year, according to di National Crime Agency.

Social media companies say dem dey take steps to tackle di problem, although critics argue say dem need apply stronger measures.

Meta say dem don remove 63,000 sextortion-related accounts wey dem link to Nigeria for 2024, including 2,500 wey bin dey part of one network wey dey target teenagers for Western countries.

International investigations bin lead to a number of arrests and extraditions. For 2024, dem sentence two Nigerian brothers for di United States to 17 years and six months in prison afta court find dem guilty say dem target one 17-year-old boy in a sextortion scheme.

EFCC say di extradition of Olawale and Adekunle show di ongoing cooperation between Nigerian and US authorities to combat transnational cybercrime, particularly offences wey involve di exploitation of children.

None of di suspects don publicly respond to di allegations. Di charges against dem remain allegations and dem neva dey tested for court.

For 2024, one court for di US sentence 24-year-old Samuel Ogoshi and Samson Ogoshi, age 21, Nigeria nationals to 210 months in prison followed by 5 years of supervised release for di crime of Conspiracy to Sexually Exploit Minors.

According to law experts for di US, sextortion na serious criminal offense and wen e involve children, harsher sentencing guidelines dey come into play.

Under di, to force minor into producing explicit content or to threaten to share di content constitutes sexual exploitation.

Di penalty if find guilt fit lead to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and e fit extend up to 30 years. Di law show di significant moral and societal harm wey di exploitation of minors dey cause.