The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency has sounded the alarm over the growing threat of sextortion gangs from Nigeria and other West African countries targeting British teenage boys.
The agency expressed concern that British teenagers as young as 14 were being targeted and blackmailed on Snapchat and Instagram by Nigerian crime gangs, who disguise themselves as young women to extort them.
A report by a UK-based online platform, Leading British Conversation, obtained by TheNigerian Metro on Thursday, stated that suspected gangs from Nigeria and Ivory Coast threatened teenagers with exposing their photos to friends, family, and classmates unless they paid a demanded sum.
A senior manager at the NCA’s child exploitation and online protection command, Marie Smith, described the abuse as “extremely disturbing. The majority of offenders we see are from West African countries.
“They use fake profiles of young women, persuading boys to send indecent images by promising explicit pictures in return.
“Once they have the images, they pressure the victim to pay quickly – sometimes giving them just minutes before threatening to expose them.”
The report also revealed that even adults as old as 30 had fallen victim to the scheme, with some tragically taking their own lives out of fear that their images would be exposed online.
She added that the NCA is working with enforcement officers in Nigeria to crack down on the gangs.
She said, “We’re working internationally with our Nigerian counterparts, which is where we’re seeing most of this abuse happening.
“Nothing is off the cards, and we hope to hold these criminals accountable.”
The NCA Director of Threat Leadership, Alex Murray, described sextortion as unimaginably cruel, warning that it could have devastating consequences for its victims.
“This campaign will help empower young boys, giving them the knowledge to spot the dangers posed by this crime type and how to report it.
“It supports them to understand that if it does happen, it is never their fault.
“It will also take the advantage away from the criminals responsible, whose only motivation is financial gain.
“Sadly, teenagers in the UK and around the world have taken their own lives because of ‘sextortion’, which has been a major factor behind launching this campaign,” Murray said.
The report further stated that in 2024 alone, the NCA’s safety centre received 380 reports of sextortion.
TheNigerian Metro reports in 2024 that two Nigerian brothers were sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison in the U.S. for committing a similar crime.
The Ogoshi brothers, originally from Lagos, deceived Jordan DeMay by posing as a girl his age, coercing him into sending explicit images before blackmailing him.
Tragically, the victim took his life less than six hours after their conversation began on Instagram.
