Afeez Olatunji Adewale has been extradited from Nigeria to the United States to face charges linked to the sexual extortion and death of a young man in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
The development was confirmed in a statement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and in a post on X by FBI Director Kash Patel on Thursday.
Adewale, 26, was arrested in Nigeria in August 2023 as part of a wider FBI operation targeting sexual extortionists who prey on minors in the United States and was formally taken into U.S. custody with the assistance of Nigerian authorities.
What they are saying
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania disclosed that Adewale has been charged by indictment with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. He appeared in federal court in Philadelphia before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lynne A. Sitarski.
- “United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Afeez Olatunji Adewale, 26, was extradited from Nigeria to the United States to face charges related to the sexual extortion and death of a young man in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
- “Adewale is charged by indictment with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. He appeared in federal court in Philadelphia before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lynne A. Sitarski yesterday. Adewale was arrested in Nigeria on August 17, 2023, as part of a wider operation with the FBI to apprehend sexual extortionists targeting minors in the United States,” the statement read in part.
Adewale was extradited to the United States on Friday, February 13, 2026, with the assistance of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI Legal Attaché in Abuja, and the FBI.
The statement acknowledged the support of Nigerian security authorities, including the Attorney General of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Justice’s International Criminal Justice Cooperation Department, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
It further noted that the charges and allegations contained in the indictment are accusations only and that every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
Background
Adewale’s co-defendants had earlier been extradited to the United States in connection with the same case. They have since been convicted and sentenced in U.S. courts.
Imoleayo Samuel Aina, also known as “Alice Dave,” and Samuel Olasunkanmi Abiodun were extradited in August 2024.
Abiodun pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud and was sentenced in June 2025 by United States District Judge Joel H. Slomsky to five years in prison.
Aina later pleaded guilty to cyberstalking, interstate threat to injure reputation, receiving proceeds of extortion, money laundering conspiracy, and wire fraud, and was sentenced in October 2025 to six years in prison.
The investigation was led by the FBI Philadelphia’s Fort Washington Resident Agency, and the Abington Township Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Brown.
More insights
In a related development earlier reported by Nairametrics, another Nigerian national was extradited to the United States in August 2025 over alleged cybercrime and fraud offences, underscoring growing international cooperation against cross-border financial crimes.
He faces charges of conspiracy to commit computer intrusions, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory two-year consecutive sentence.
Authorities said he was apprehended in France through coordinated efforts between U.S. and French law enforcement agencies and remains presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
What you should know
Nairametrics reported in September 2025 that another Nigerian citizen, Farouk Adekunle Adepoju, was arrested in the United Kingdom following a U.S. extradition request over alleged wire and computer fraud totaling more than $235,000.
- The case reflects growing cooperation between U.S. and U.K. authorities on cybercrime involving Nigerian suspects.
- Adepoju was arrested on September 15, 2025, and is awaiting extradition to face a seven-count indictment in the Western District of Pennsylvania.
- He is accused of defrauding a Pennsylvania university of $235,266.80 between March and April 2023 by gaining unauthorized access to a construction company’s email system and impersonating staff.
Court filings allege that he altered account rules and registered a spoofed domain to divert payments to a fraudulent bank account, and the funds have not been recovered.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Adepoju is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
