The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) Lagos Zonal Command enabled the extradition of Samuel Ogoshi and his brother, Samson, to the United States on Sunday for sexually extorting multiple young men and teenage boys.
The victims were located in the Western District of Michigan and across the U.S., a statement by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, said Monday.
The commission, in May 2023, initiated the extradition proceedings at the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division.
The Ogoshi brothers alongside one Ezekiel Ejemeh Robert were accused of exploitation of minors and production of pornography, following a request by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
“The Ogoshis and Ezekiel were indicted in a United States Federal Court on December 1, 2022, on charges of exploitation of minors, resulting in death, conspiracy to sexually exploit minors by causing the minors to produce child pornographic images that the defendants now use to blackmail them,” the statement read.
They are further charged with conspiracy to distribute child pornography, which borders on sending images to minors, their families and friends, as well as conspiracy to commit stalking through the Internet.
The offences carry a minimum of five years and maximum 20 years imprisonment, the EFCC said.
Specifically, Samuel was charged with causing the death of 17-year-old Jordan DeMay of Marquette, Michigan, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in March 2022.
According to investigations, the suspects conspired to conduct sex-based extortion of minors and adults in the United States of America.
The trio allegedly hacked some social media accounts, posing to be young attractive women to entice unsuspecting victims to send their sexually explicit photographs.
These pictures were then used to blackmail the victims, thereby forcing them into making huge financial payments.
While the Ogoshis were arrested sometime in February 2023 around the Ojo axis of Lagos, Robert was picked up in Nasarawa by operatives of the EFCC.
The extradition of the third defendant, Robert, is, however, still pending.
Meanwhile, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten, on Sunday, announced the extradition in a statement by the United States Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Michigan.
“Sextortion is a horrible crime. To those who commit these crimes: we will pursue you around the world. And to those who are victims: please know we stand ready to help you,” Totten said.
“I am extremely pleased with how swiftly extradition efforts moved forward and am grateful to the FBI and our Nigerian law enforcement partners for their unyielding work to secure justice in this international sexual exploitation investigation.”
In a similar vein, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan Devin J. Kowalski described financial sextortion as a global crisis that impacts teens in the U.S. and around the world.
“As this case demonstrates, the FBI is committed to working closely with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to prevent young men and women from becoming victims of this tragic crime,” Kowalski said.