Three Nigerians among 16 charged in US over alleged election-related offences

The United States Department of Justice has filed charges against three Nigerian nationals and 13 other foreign nationals in separate cases involving alleged violations of federal election and citizenship laws.

The 16 cases, announced by the DOJ on Friday, involve allegations ranging from voting by ineligible individuals and falsely claiming US citizenship for electoral purposes to naturalisation, passport and wire fraud.

The Nigerians identified in the cases are Gladys Adaeze Okafor, 56; Helen Sayen Adams, 67; and Joshua Nmelichukwu Akpom, 27.

Okafor, a Nigerian citizen and lawful permanent resident living in Massachusetts, had previously been arrested and charged over allegations that she registered to vote and cast ballots in the 2022 midterm election and the 2024 presidential primary despite not being a US citizen.

According to the DOJ, Okafor obtained lawful permanent resident status in December 2022 and had neither become a US citizen nor applied for citizenship when she allegedly registered and voted.

Prosecutors further alleged that she signed a voter registration certification in which she declared that she was a US citizen.

Adams, also identified as a Nigerian citizen and lawful permanent resident, is facing charges in the Northern District of Texas.

The DOJ said she was charged “with Voting by an Alien in a Federal Election and False Statement of Citizenship in Order to Register to Vote.”

According to prosecutors, Adams allegedly falsely represented herself as a US citizen when she registered to vote in Texas in June 2024.

She subsequently allegedly voted in the November 2024 general election.

Read also: Tinubu directs states to cut transport fares as CNG programme targets October 1

The department said Adams became a lawful permanent resident in May 2024, before allegedly making the citizenship claim on her voter registration application.

The third Nigerian, Akpom, has been a lawful permanent resident in the United States since 2016 and faces allegations relating to his naturalisation application rather than a direct voting charge.

The DOJ said Akpom allegedly made false statements on a 2026 application for naturalisation by denying that he had previously claimed to be a US citizen, registered to vote or voted in an election.

Prosecutors allege that Akpom registered to vote in 2017 and subsequently voted in the 2018 general election.

However, the department said the alleged voting conduct could no longer be prosecuted because of the applicable statute of limitations.

“Due to the five-year statute of limitations, prosecutors relied on the naturalisation offence rather than the voting conduct,” an earlier statement said.

As a result, prosecutors charged Akpom in connection with the alleged false statements made during his naturalisation process.

The three Nigerians are among 16 individuals charged in separate federal cases across the United States.

The other defendants include nationals of Mexico, India, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Antigua and Barbuda, Venezuela, Colombia and Russia.

The cases cover a range of alleged offences, including voting while ineligible, falsely claiming US citizenship to register or vote, wire fraud, naturalisation fraud and passport fraud.

One of the investigations also allegedly uncovered an unlawful firearm purchase.

The Justice Department said the cases were brought through various federal districts and involved different sets of allegations and circumstances.

The department stressed that the charges do not constitute findings of guilt.

According to the DOJ, complaints, indictments and other charging documents contain allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The post Three Nigerians among 16 charged in US over alleged election-related offences appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from Ripples Nigeria.