The United States and Nigeria have strengthened their cooperation against financially motivated sextortion, romance scams and other forms of transnational cybercrime.
Michael Gonzales, the United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, highlighted the progress during his visit to Abuja. His trip coincided with Nigeria’s Cybercrime Awareness Week and focused on advancing shared security priorities.
Gonzales met with senior officials from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Office of the National Security Adviser, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the Nigeria Police Force. Discussions centred on expanding joint investigations and improving coordination against cyber-enabled offences.
He noted that cybercrime crosses borders within seconds and urged law-enforcement agencies to ensure that international cooperation moves equally swiftly. Recent extraditions, he said, demonstrate the effectiveness of combining investigative, diplomatic and legal capabilities.
In August, Nigeria extradited two alleged cybercriminals to the United States. They face separate charges involving financially motivated sextortion cases connected to American minors who died by suicide. Since 2022, the FBI Legal Attaché Office in Abuja has worked with the EFCC on 41 extraditions, including five completed in 2026.
Gonzales commended the EFCC, the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation for supporting the investigations and extradition process. He also stressed that swift and visible accountability is essential to deterring criminals and protecting vulnerable victims.
The visit reaffirmed that the strength of US-Nigeria security cooperation is measured not only by funded programmes, but also by practical results and sustained institutional collaboration.
