THE South African Police Service (SAPS) says six Nigerians will be extradited to the United States of America over allegations that they defrauded more than 100 women in a romance scam scheme.
News Point Nigeria reports that the six Nigerians are alleged members of the Black Axe network and are wanted by United States authorities in connection with charges bordering on alleged wire fraud and money laundering.
In a statement published via X on Friday, the South African police said the suspects would be moved from a correctional facility in Cape Town to the airport, where they would be handed over to officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Secret Service.
SAPS said the suspects, who were arrested in 2021, allegedly defrauded women in the United States of more than R100 million.
“The six Nigerian nationals were arrested in South Africa in 2021, following a major takedown operation conducted by the Hawks/DPCI,” the statement reads.
It added: “Through the coordination of INTERPOL South Africa, the six will today be transported from a correctional facility in Cape Town to Cape Town International Airport, where they will be handed over to officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Secret Service, who arrived in South Africa this morning.
“The formal handover is expected to take place this afternoon.”
The extradition comes amid growing international cooperation in tackling transnational financial and cyber-related crimes involving Nigerian nationals and organised criminal networks.
The development also follows a similar extradition carried out by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in August, when two Nigerians were extradited to the United States over alleged online sexual exploitation and sextortion of two teenage boys who later died by suicide.
Mudashiru Afeez Olawale and Adebola Festus were extradited after investigations by the US FBI allegedly linked them to separate sextortion schemes targeting male minors.
