US, Nigeria Deepen Cybercrime Cooperation as Gonzales Highlights 41 Extraditions

The United States and Nigeria have agreed to deepen cooperation against financially motivated sextortion, romance scams and other forms of transnational cybercrime following a visit to Abuja by a senior US State Department official, Michael Gonzales.

Gonzales, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), visited Nigeria to advance shared security priorities and strengthen collaboration between law enforcement agencies in both countries.

The US Mission in Nigeria disclosed the development in a statement on Monday, noting that the visit coincided with the country’s Cybercrime Awareness Week.

During his engagements, Gonzales met senior officials from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Nigeria Police Force.

Discussions focused on expanding joint investigations and enforcement efforts against cyber-enabled crimes, particularly sextortion and romance scams. Gonzales urged officials in both countries to ensure that cooperation against criminals operating across international borders moved as quickly as the crimes themselves.

The US Mission cited recent extraditions as evidence of the growing partnership, disclosing that Nigeria extradited two alleged cybercriminals to the United States in August. The suspects face separate charges involving financially motivated sextortion cases involving American minors who died by suicide.

It also revealed that the FBI Legal Attaché Office at the US Embassy in Abuja had worked with the EFCC on 41 extraditions since 2022, including five completed in 2026. This represents an increase compared with the period between 2012 and 2021, when the two countries recorded four arrests and five extraditions, according to the statement.

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

He also stressed the importance of holding cybercrime suspects accountable through swift and visible legal action, saying such measures could discourage others from targeting victims.

The US official further maintained that the strength of Washington’s partnership with Abuja should not be measured solely by the number of programmes it funds, underscoring the importance of practical cooperation and shared law enforcement outcomes.