US charges three Nigerians, 13 others over election crimes

The United States Department of Justice has charged three Nigerian nationals and 13 other foreign nationals in connection with alleged election-related offences. The 16 cases involve allegations such as voting by ineligible individuals, falsely claiming US citizenship for electoral purposes, and naturalisation, passport, and wire fraud.

Among the Nigerian defendants are Gladys Adaeze Okafor, Helen Sayen Adams, and Joshua Nmelichukwu Akpom. Okafor, a lawful permanent resident living in Massachusetts, allegedly registered to vote and cast ballots in the 2022 midterm election and the 2024 presidential primary despite not being a US citizen. Adams, also a lawful permanent resident, is facing charges for falsely representing herself as a US citizen when she registered to vote in Texas in June 2024.

Akpom, who has been a lawful permanent resident since 2016, faces allegations related to his naturalisation application, including making false statements about his citizenship and voting history. The Nigerians are among 16 individuals charged in separate federal cases across the United States, with the other defendants hailing from various countries including Mexico, India, and Russia.

Brief written by urgent.news from Ripples Nigeria's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.