US, Nigeria Step Up War Against Sextortion, Cybercrime
By Princess-Ekwi Ajide| Abuja
Behind online friendships, romantic promises and seemingly harmless messages, cybercriminals are targeting vulnerable people, including children, stealing money and, in some cases, driving victims to suicide.
Now, the United States and Nigeria are stepping up efforts to dismantle the networks behind these crimes.
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Michael Gonzales, announced renewed cooperation between both countries during a visit to Abuja, where he met officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Office of the National Security Adviser, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the Nigeria Police Force.
The discussions focused on financially motivated sextortion, romance scams and other forms of transnational cybercrime.
The partnership is already producing results. Since 2022, the FBI Legal Attaché Office in Abuja has worked with the EFCC on 41 extraditions, including five in 2026.
In August, Nigeria extradited two alleged cybercriminals to the United States over separate sextortion cases involving American minors who died by suicide.
The figures underline the human cost of online exploitation.
The US National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children received more than 50,000 reports of financially motivated sextortion in 2025, an average of 137 reports daily.
The FBI identifies Nigeria and other parts of West Africa, alongside Southeast Asia, as locations where prominent sextortion networks have operated.
Romance scams are another growing concern, with fraudsters exploiting emotional relationships to strip victims of life savings and retirement funds.
Gonzales commended the EFCC, the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation for supporting investigations and extraditions, while urging both countries to move beyond individual arrests to dismantle entire criminal networks.
He also called for stronger intelligence sharing, faster investigations, improved cybercrime reporting and wider public awareness.
The Nigeria Police Force’s National Cybercrime Centre launched a nationwide online-safety campaign in March to educate Nigerians about sextortion, romance scams, phishing, identity theft and business email compromise.
Gonzales said the success of US-Nigeria cooperation should be measured not by the number of programmes funded, but by tangible outcomes: protected victims, disrupted criminal networks, successful prosecutions and stronger Nigerian institutions.
As cybercrime crosses borders within seconds, both countries face growing pressure to ensure that justice can move just as quickly.
Join Our WhatsApp Community
