A Nigerian man, Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, 24, has been extradited to the United States to face prosecution for the alleged sextortion of a minor, which led to the victim’s death.

According to the BBC, Lawal, from Osun State, was flown to the US on Saturday following an agreement with the federal government that he would not face the death penalty if convicted.

He appeared in a federal court in Columbia, South Carolina, on Monday, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and shackles.

According to reports, he pleaded not guilty to charges, including child exploitation resulting in death and the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material.

Lawal’s extradition followed an investigation into the death of 17-year-old Gavin Guffey, who allegedly took his own life after being victimised by the accused.

The prosecution alleges that Lawal posed as a young woman on social media to coerce the teenager into sending compromising photos. He then extorted and harassed the victim, threatening to leak the images unless money was sent.

Lawal is also accused of targeting the victim’s family similarly.

If convicted, he faces life imprisonment, with the charge of child exploitation resulting in death carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years.

He remains in custody without bail, with his next court hearing scheduled for Monday, February 3, 2025.

Last year, the parents of Murray Dowey, a British teenager who died by suicide after being targeted in a similar sextortion scheme, urged Nigerian criminals to stop preying on the vulnerable.

In September 2024, two Nigerian brothers were sentenced to 17 years and six months in the US for sextortion, marking the first successful prosecution of Nigerians for such crimes in the country.

Meta, the parent company of Instagram, has since removed thousands of Nigerian accounts linked to sextortion schemes.

Nigeria’s National Cyber Crime Centre director, Uche Ifeanyi Henry, previously stated that the government had invested millions of pounds in advanced infrastructure to combat cybercrime. (The Guardian)

•South Carolina state Rep. Brandon Guffey, holds a picture of his son Gavin Guffey, 17, who died by suicide after being entrapped in a sexual extortion scam on Instagram, during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis,” in Dirksen building on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024. Tom Williams / AP file