The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has published the names and photographs of 24 Nigerian nationals arrested by US immigration authorities over alleged criminal offences.
According to information released by the department, the individuals were arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in various locations across the country.
The allegations listed against them include wire and mail fraud, money laundering, drug-related offences, identity theft, assault, forgery, weapons violations and cruelty towards a child.
In a statement accompanying the publication, DHS said the exercise was intended to draw attention to non-US citizens with criminal records who had been arrested by immigration enforcement officers.
“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is highlighting the worst of worst criminal aliens arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” the department stated.
It added that DHS and ICE were carrying out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policy, with enforcement efforts targeting individuals it described as serious criminal offenders.
The list published by DHS contains the names of the Nigerian nationals, the alleged offences linked to their cases and the locations of their arrests.
List of Nigerians and Alleged Offences
According to the DHS publication, the individuals and the allegations listed against them are:
Emmanuel Omowaiye — Mail fraud in Richmond, Texas.
Laurene Onwuka — Fraud and impersonation in Chantilly, Virginia.
Olusegun Shonekan — Wire fraud in Newark, New Jersey.
Olusegun Olaseni — Sale of amphetamine in Greencastle, Indiana.
Peter Ude — Wire fraud in Atlanta, Georgia.
Newton Jemide — Wire fraud, conspiracy and mail fraud in Fort Dix, New Jersey.
Shedrack Umukoro — Money laundering in Yazoo City, Mississippi.
Olasoji Akinbode — Fraud and impersonation in Kearny, New Jersey.
Oluwatosin Afolabi — Fraud in Conroe, Texas.
Alameen Adetunji Tokosi — Drug possession in Chicago, Illinois.
Joshua Ipoade — Wire fraud in Atlanta, Georgia.
Michael Orji — Weapons violations, fraud, identity theft, wire fraud, false citizenship and money laundering in Oxford, Wisconsin.
Ahmadu Apooyin — Drug-related offence in Baltimore, Maryland.
Teslim Kiriji — Money laundering in Yazoo City, Mississippi.
Onomen Uduebor — Identity theft in Seattle, Washington.
Charles Ochi — Money laundering in White Deer, Pennsylvania.
Daniel Eta — Wire fraud in White Deer, Pennsylvania.
Ifeanyi Ibennah — Cruelty towards a child in Tampa, Florida.
Kazeem Runsewe — Wire fraud in Thomson, Illinois.
Fatiu Lawal — Wire fraud in Lompoc, California.
Justin Akubueze — Money laundering in Orem, Utah.
Moyinoluwaseun Okeowo — Larceny, forgery and concealing stolen property in Orlando, Florida.
Babajide Oluwaseun Faseyi — Assault in Alden, New York.
Bright Eigbedion — Money laundering in Lompoc, California.
The DHS publication did not, in the information provided, establish the outcome of each individual case. The allegations should therefore not be treated as proof of guilt.
The arrests come amid the Trump administration’s continued immigration enforcement and deportation operations targeting foreign nationals deemed removable under US immigration laws.
