Two Nigerian brothers have been extradited to the United States to face prosecution over the alleged s*xtortion.
Gatekeepers News reports that the suspects, Samuel Ogoshi, 22 and Samson Ogoshi, 20 – two brothers who are residents of Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria, will face prosecution for alleging extorting young men and teenage boys on social media.
In May, one of the suspects, Samuel, was charged with causing the death of a 17-year-old American, Jordan DeMay.
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 Ezekiel Ejehem Robert, 19, allegedly bought hacked social media accounts and used same to pose as young women to lure teenage and young adult males into s*xual chats.
According to the department, the men, who were in contact with the victims, 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, a judge at the federal high court Binta Nyako ruled that the two brothers should be handed over to US authorities.
The US Justice Department in statement on Sunday, announced that the two suspects will be arraigned on Monday afternoon at the federal courthouse in Grand Rapids.
The department added that the extradition of Robert, the accomplice, is still pending.
The statement read, “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.
“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.”
A US attorney, Mark Totten was quoted as saying in the statement that he was pleased about the swiftness of the extradition.
Totten said, “S*xtortion 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.
“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.”
