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Summary
Sextortion is a common crime with vulnerable girls being victims of men who prey on them online.
At sixteen, Mary (not real name) got her first smartphone after passing her Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination. Her uncle fulfilled his promise and bought a Techno LC 2 phone for her. Immediately, she created a Facebook account and started sending and receiving friend requests. Over the next weeks, she was online, relishing the social media world. Her ordeal started shortly after a neighbour’s son sent her a friend request, and they exchanged contact. Soon, he started sending various interesting WhatsApp messages, not knowing he had an ulterior motive.
“I trusted him. Our conversation started as normal, innocent, neighbour-to-neighbour chats. Little by little, he started flirting with me with his messages. Eventually, I was carried away and didn’t realise I was getting myself entrapped in a web. Soon, he asked if I could show him some parts of my body. I hesitated. He assured me that he meant no harm but just that he loved me and would love to see how beautiful my body was.
So, I took pictures of my breasts and sent them to him. He was so erotic that when he requested I do a video, I didn’t bat an eyelid. Some days later, I sent a video clip of my breasts. You would assume that was enough already, but that wasn’t. He kept persuading and pressuring me to send more nude videos of myself. One fateful day, I capitulated and took a nude video of myself completely and sent it to him. I regretted that decision. I did not tell my mum or anyone what I was doing or who I was discussing online but was always engrossed in chatting with this guy regularly.
A day came when he stopped being nice with his words and started threatening to post my nude videos online and tag everyone I knew if I refused to pay a specific amount of money. Initially, I thought he was joking, but his stern voice and nasty messages every day for a week were frightening. I was so scared. I never felt so humiliated and dejected. I was in torment for days, thinking of what would happen should anyone get to see my nudity. My reputation and that of my family will be ruined forever.”
Mary is one of the many teenagers who have faced or are facing the cruel online crime of sextortion carried out by fraudulent people. Sextortion is a crime that occurs when someone threatens to distribute nudes and private videos of another person when that person refuses to grant them sexual favours or pay them money. It is sexual exploitation as it is where the perpetrator uses coercion and threats to compel the victim to produce sexual images or videos engaging in sexual acts, and this act is punishable under the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act, 2015 (as re-enacted).
Recent research conducted by an American technology company, SNAP Incorporated, showed that two-thirds of Generation Z are targeted for online Sextortion. The FBI in May, 2022 issued an alert that overseas criminal actors were increasingly participating in sextortion schemes targeting teenage boys while posing as girls.
Similarly, the Nigerian Police have also warned youths to be careful when using dating apps due to increasing reports of sextortion and other cybercrimes. In July of 2024, Meta removed 63,000 Instagram accounts registered in Nigeria connected to the sextortion scam. The perpetrators of this crime are popularly called the yahoo boys. Researchers and law enforcement agencies point to Nigeria as a hotspot for this type of crime.
In Nigeria, many victims of sextortion hardly report the crime to the police. There’s so much secrecy around it, and many Nigerians do not really know what sextortion is all about. In the case of Mary, she said the crime was not reported to the police rather, her parents reported the boy to his parents. Why was it not reported to the police?
Mary said, “As I could no longer bear the threats and I do not have the money to pay, I just opened up to my mother and told her everything. My mum was so disappointed in what I got myself into, and she decided to confront the boy and his parents. They apologised profusely and promised to delete the videos.
“It’s been four years now since the unfortunate incident. My Android phone was retrieved, and I was given a small phone for calls and text messages. I deleted all social media accounts and focused on my studies at the university. I just got a new Android phone, and I will never trust anyone online, no matter who they are. My advice to girls is never to trust anyone online, have confidence in yourself, and always confide in your parents. The psychological trauma was intense, but I am still healing.”
A mental Health Specialist, Toluse Francis, said victims of sextortion need support from family and friends. He said the trauma victims face is very intense and it takes time for them to heal.
“I think the psychological trauma victims of sextortion face are often underestimated. They should forgive and not blame themselves for what has happened and seek help instead of keeping quiet.
Secondly, it is important victims are taken to a mental health specialist to help with counselling, and a good support system will lead to a quick recovery,” he said. In January of 2025, Hassanbunhussein Abolore Lawal, 24, from Nigeria’s Osun state, was extradited to the US to face prosecution over the alleged sextortion of a minor, which led to the victim’s death.
Similarly, in April of 2024, two Nigerian men were arrested after a schoolboy from Australia killed himself. Two other men are on trial in Lagos after the suicides of a 15-year-old boy in the US and a 14-year-old in Canada. Also, two brothers from Nigeria who targeted a 17-year-old in a sextortion scam have been sentenced to 17 years and six months in jail in the US.
Sextortion is a real and growing threat that is devastating the lives of many teenagers and minors. It is crucial for governments, NGOs, parents, teachers, and other community leaders to unite in the fight against this dangerous crime, which is steadily becoming a pandemic in our society. There is an urgent need for widespread awareness campaigns targeting schools, religious institutions, and communities to educate teenagers about the tactics and antics used by these cyber criminals. Security agencies must also enhance their efforts to ensure these predators are identified, arrested, and prosecuted.
Mary was fortunate to escape the clutches of the Yahoo boy because she opened up to her mother. This highlights the importance of fostering strong, open relationships between parents and children, where communication is encouraged and trusted.
Editor’s note: This story was first published on bonewss.ng.
