Nigerian man’s nudity arrest sparks US political row

The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested a Nigerian man, Chimaobim Igbojekwe, for exposing himself in a public park in East Pennsboro Township on September 27. Igbojekwe pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and ICE charged him with illegal residency in the US, stating he was an illegal immigrant. According to ICE, Igbojekwe came to the US in June 2017 on a legal visa, but it expired in 2019.

He has been in the US illegally since then and was granted deferred action under former President Joe Biden in 2021.

Igbojekwe was a campaigner for Democrat Janelle Stelson, who was running against Republican Representative Scott Perry in a congressional campaign in Pennsylvania. However, the Stelson campaign denied that Igbojekwe was part of their team, stating that they had never heard of him prior to his arrest. ICE Deputy Director Charles Wall criticized Stelson for hiring an illegal migrant to work on the campaign and called him a "pervert" for exposing himself in public.

ICE expressed surprise at learning that Igbojekwe was an illegal migrant, highlighting the contrast between his campaign activities and his immigration status. The US authorities were taken aback by this revelation, as they had not anticipated the illegal residency of someone actively involved in a political campaign.