Two brothers, Samuel Ogoshi, 22 and Samson Ogoshi, 20, including their friend, Ezekiel Ejehem Robert, 19, have been extradited to the United States to face prosecution over the alleged sexual extortion of numerous young men and teenage boys on social media.
The suspects are residents of Lagos.
In May, one of the suspects, Samuel, was charged with causing the death of Jordan DeMay, a 17-year-old American.
DeMay was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in March 2022 at Marquette, Michigan.
The US justice department had said the two brothers and Robert, allegedly bought hacked social media accounts and used same to pose as young women to lure teenage and young adult males into sexual chats.
According to the department, while the men were in contact with the victims, they searched the internet for information about where the victims lived, where they went to school or worked, and who their family and friends were.
On July 20, Binta Nyako, a judge at the federal high court, ruled that the two brothers should be handed over to US authorities.
In a statement on Sunday, the US justice department announced that the two suspects will be arraigned on Monday afternoon at the federal courthouse in Grand Rapids.
The department said the extradition of Robert, the accomplice, is still pending.
“It’s anticipated that the extradited defendants’ initial appearance will take place Monday afternoon at the federal courthouse in Grand Rapids at a time to be determined by the court,” the statement reads.
“Nigerian authorities arrested Samuel and Samson Ogoshi in Nigeria in January 2023, at the request of the United States.
“Nigerian prosecutors managed the extradition proceedings, on behalf of the United States.
“On July 20, the Honorable Justice B.F.M. Nyako ordered both Ogoshis to be turned over to the United States to face the charges in the indictment.
“On August 3, B.E. Jedy Agba, the solicitor-general of the Nigerian Federation, signed the final surrender order, authorizing the United States to bring the Ogoshis to West Michigan.”
Mark Totten, a US attorney was quoted as saying in the statement that he was pleased about the swiftness of the extradition.
“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.”
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