Two Nigerians arrested over Australian teenager’s ‘sextortion’ death
After reportedly attempting to extort an Australian teenager by threatening to post compromising images of him online, two men have been detained in Nigeria.
The teenager committed suicide, according to Australian authorities, on Monday, April 8, after receiving threats from the people involved in the purported “sextortion” scheme.
According to Australian authorities, the males had been communicating with the adolescent via the internet and threatened to publish “personal photos of the boy” unless he paid them Aus$500 (US$330).
The boy is alleged to have taken his own life in 2023 as a result of the threats.
Working with authorities in South Africa and Nigeria, Australian police said they had tracked the two men to “a slum in Nigeria”.
Under Nigerian law, local authorities “have the power to prosecute for Australian-based offences”, they added.
“The sextortion of children is a borderless crime, as these arrests show,” said Australian Federal Police commander Helen Schneider.