Two Nigerians arrested over Australian teenager’s ‘sextortion’ death

Two men have been arrested in Nigeria after allegedly trying to extort an Australian teenager by threatening to release compromising photos of him online.

Australian police said Monday, April 8, that the boy had killed himself after being threatened by the suspects in the alleged “sextortion” scam.

The men, who had been talking with the teenager online, said they would release “personal photos of the boy” if he did not pay them Aus$500 (US$330), Australian police said.

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 offenses”, they added.

“The sextortion of children is a borderless crime, as these arrests show,” said Australian Federal Police commander Helen Schneider.