The United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, INL, Michael Gonzales, has detailed the major highlights of his trip to Abuja, Nigeria.
In a statement on Monday, the US Mission announced that the United States and Nigeria had deepened their collaboration against financially motivated sextortion, romance scams and transnational cybercrime.
According to the US Embassy, Gonzales’ trip to Abuja was aimed at advancing shared US-Nigeria security priorities in areas affecting both countries.
His visit coincided with Nigeria’s Cybercrime Awareness Week, during which he emphasised the need to strengthen cooperation against cyber-enabled crime in meetings with senior Nigerian government 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, NPF.
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Highlighting how cybercrime can cross borders in seconds, DAS Gonzales challenged US and Nigerian counterparts to ensure that cooperation in tackling such criminal activities moves just as swiftly.
“Recent extraditions demonstrate that when the United States and Nigeria combine investigative, diplomatic and law enforcement capabilities, international borders do not provide sanctuary for those who prey on their citizens, the statement read.
“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 US Embassy in Abuja has worked with the EFCC on 41 extraditions, including five completed in 2026. That marks a sharp increase from 2012 to 2021, when our two countries recorded only four arrests and five extraditions.”
Gonzales acknowledged the critical support provided by the EFCC, the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation in facilitating the US investigations and extraditions.
He emphasised that swift and public action to hold criminals meaningfully accountable could also play a significant role in deterring others from preying on victims.
DAS Gonzales reiterated that the United States does not measure the strength of its collaboration with Nigeria simply by the number of programmes it funds.
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