The United States and Nigeria have agreed to deepen cooperation against sextortion, romance scams and other transnational cybercrime, following talks between a senior U.S. State Department official and Nigerian security agencies in Abuja.
Michael Gonzales, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, met officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Office of the National Security Adviser, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Nigeria Police Force. The visit coincided with Nigeria’s Cybercrime Awareness Week.
Gonzales said cybercrime crosses borders in seconds and urged both countries to ensure their cooperation does the same.
In August, Nigeria extradited two alleged cybercriminals to the United States. They face charges in separate financially motivated sextortion cases involving American minors who died by suicide.
Since 2022, the FBI Legal Attaché Office at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja has worked with the EFCC on 41 extraditions, five of them completed in 2026. Between 2012 and 2021, the two countries recorded only four arrests and five extraditions.
Gonzales thanked the EFCC, the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation for their support, saying swift and public action against offenders helps deter others.
The U.S. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received more than 50,000 reports of financially motivated sextortion in 2025, about 137 a day. The FBI lists Nigeria and other parts of West Africa, along with Southeast Asia, among places where the most prevalent sextortion networks have operated. Through Operation Artemis and related efforts, the FBI works with Nigerian authorities to disrupt networks targeting Americans.
Romance scams, which can cost victims their life savings, are also a focus. In March, the Police National Cybercrime Centre launched a nationwide online-safety campaign covering romance scams, sextortion, phishing, identity theft and business email compromise.
Praise for the EFCC
Gonzales commended the EFCC as one of Africa’s most recognised economic crime enforcement agencies, citing its high-profile prosecutions, asset recovery and public engagement. Some recent cases, he noted, took years of joint effort. He said cooperation should become faster, more routine and more proactive, targeting networks, financial infrastructure and facilitators before more victims are harmed.
Both sides identified priorities including: Stronger information sharing between agencies; faster movement of cyber and financial intelligence into investigations; wider public awareness of sextortion and romance scams and continued growth of Nigeria’s investigative, prosecutorial and cybercrime-reporting capabilities.
Gonzales said Washington measures the partnership not by the programmes it funds but by outcomes: victims protected, networks disrupted, investigations advanced, convictions secured and Nigerian institutions better able to sustain the work.
