Nigeria, US Record 41 Extraditions in Joint Cybercrime Crackdown Since 2022

Nigeria and the United States have strengthened their cooperation against cybercrime, with 41 extraditions facilitated through collaboration between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) since 2022.

The United States disclosed this in a statement on Monday following a visit to Abuja by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Michael Gonzales.

Gonzales met with senior Nigerian officials to discuss joint efforts against financially motivated sextortion, romance scams and other forms of transnational cybercrime.

41 Extraditions Recorded Since 2022

According to the US statement, the FBI Legal Attaché Office at the US Embassy in Abuja and the EFCC have facilitated 41 extraditions since 2022, including five completed in 2026.

The figure represents an increase from the period between 2012 and 2021, when both countries recorded four arrests and five extraditions.

The statement also disclosed that Nigeria extradited two alleged cybercriminals to the United States in August. They are facing charges in separate sextortion cases involving American minors who died by suicide.

Gonzales acknowledged the contributions of the EFCC, Federal Ministry of Justice and Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation to investigations and extradition proceedings.

US Raises Concern Over Sextortion and Romance Scams

The US government identified financially motivated sextortion as a growing threat to young people, revealing that the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received more than 50,000 reports in 2025, averaging about 137 reports daily.

The FBI identified Nigeria and other parts of West Africa, alongside Southeast Asia, as locations where some of the most prevalent sextortion networks have operated.

Through Operation Artemis and related initiatives, the FBI works with Nigerian authorities to identify and disrupt criminal networks targeting Americans.

Both countries are also focusing on romance scams, which exploit personal relationships and trust to defraud victims of their savings and other financial assets.

The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre also launched a nationwide online-safety and cyber-hygiene campaign in March, targeting romance scams, sextortion, phishing, identity theft and business email compromise.

Nigeria, US Expand Security Partnership

The latest engagement forms part of wider security cooperation between Nigeria and the United States, including the establishment of a joint working group to coordinate responses to shared security challenges.

Previous engagements involved National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu's delegation to Washington in November 2025, as well as subsequent meetings with US Vice President JD Vance in May 2026 and US Assistant Secretary of State Frank Garcia's visit to Abuja in July.

The discussions covered counterterrorism, intelligence sharing, defence cooperation and regional security.

The US statement identified stronger information sharing, faster investigations, increased public awareness and improved investigative and prosecutorial capacity as priorities for the next phase of cooperation against cybercrime.

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