Wednesday, September 23, 2026

We will hunt you down anywhere, U.S. warns Nigerian Yahoo Boys

Mr Patel described the two extradited Nigerians as high-value suspects.

• August 28, 2026
Mudashiru Afeez Olawale and Adebola Festus Adekunle.
Mudashiru Afeez Olawale and Adebola Festus Adekunle.

U.S. authorities have issued a stern warning that Nigerian internet fraudsters and other foreign criminals will be hunted down wherever they may hide around the world, following the extradition of Mudashiru Afeez Olawale and Adebola Festus Adekunle.

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, in a statement on X on Friday, reacted to the extradition of the two Nigerians, warning: “Anyone who allegedly exploits vulnerable children in the U.S. will be pursued no matter where they are in the world.”

“Two Nigerian men have been extradited to the United States from Nigeria to face prosecution in two separate cases for allegedly engaging in financially-motivated sextortion of minors resulting in the deaths of two teenage victims—in Mississippi and North Carolina,” Mr Blanche said.

The arrest and extradition of the two Nigerians, Mr Blanche said, was “part of a wider operation with the @FBI to apprehend sexual extortionists targeting minors in the U.S. @TheJusticeDept and this Administration have an unwavering commitment to protecting America’s children from exploitation and sexual abuse.”

The U.S. attorney general said America has strengthened its “international law enforcement partnerships to dismantle the foreign criminal networks behind financially motivated sextortion and identify and prosecute child sexual exploitation perpetrators linked directly to dozens of American teens who died by suicide.”

Kash Patel, U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation czar, described the two extradited Nigerians as high-value suspects brought back to America to face trial.

“This FBI has brought back two high-value targets from Nigeria to the United States to face justice for alleged sextortion crimes targeting minors,” Mr Patel said. “They were overseas for three years. Now they’re back on U.S. soil to answer for the charges against them.”

According to the FBI czar, Adebola Festus Adekunle and Mudasiru Afeez Olawale were arrested in Nigeria in 2023 and are now on U.S. soil. The charges include sexual exploitation of minors, coercion and enticement, extortion, distribution and production of child sexual abuse material, and other offences.

“One of these alleged schemes resulted in the death of a child,” Mr Patel said.

In collaboration with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, facilitated the extradition of the duo to the United States of America (U.S.) to face prosecution for allegedly sexually extorting two teenage boys.

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