A 26-year-old Nigerian national has been extradited from Nigeria to the United States to face federal charges over an alleged financially motivated sextortion scheme that prosecutors say contributed to the death of a Mississippi teenager.
The United States Department of Justice identified the suspect as Adebola Festus Adekunle, a resident of Lagos, Nigeria.
Adekunle appeared before a federal court in Oxford, Mississippi, on Friday, August 28, 2026, following his extradition to the United States.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi, Adekunle was arrested in Nigeria in August 2023 as part of an operation involving the FBI targeting individuals accused of sexually extorting minors in the United States.
He is facing a three-count federal indictment.
The charges include sexual exploitation of a minor resulting in death, production of child sexual abuse material, coercion and enticement of a minor, and interstate threats with intent to extort.
Prosecutors allege that the scheme involved the exploitation of a Mississippi minor and ultimately contributed to the victim’s death.
The case highlights the growing international dimension of online sextortion, in which perpetrators allegedly threaten victims with the release of intimate images or other sensitive material unless money or additional explicit content is provided.
The FBI has increasingly pursued such cases across international borders, particularly where suspects operating outside the United States are accused of targeting American teenagers.
The Justice Department said Adekunle was one of several people targeted during the 2023 operation in Nigeria.
The extradition means the Nigerian suspect will now face the U.S. judicial process over the allegations contained in the indictment.
The charges remain allegations, and Adekunle is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.