Ayomide Awe
The United States Department of Homeland Security has released the names and photographs of 24 Nigerian nationals arrested by immigration authorities over alleged offences ranging from wire fraud and money laundering to drug-related crimes, identity theft, assault and forgery.
The disclosure, published on the department’s website, identified the Nigerians and the locations where they were arrested by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The development comes amid the administration of President Donald Trump’s renewed drive to deport non-US citizens with criminal records as part of its broader immigration enforcement policy.
According to the DHS, the arrests involved individuals linked to different alleged criminal offences, including mail fraud, impersonation, weapons violations, false citizenship claims, larceny and cruelty towards a child.
The department said the publication was intended to highlight foreign nationals with criminal records 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 statement said.
It added that the department and ICE were implementing Trump’s promise to intensify deportations, beginning with those it described as the “worst of the worst”.
However, the information released by the department did not establish that all the individuals had been convicted of the offences listed against them. Arrests and allegations do not, in themselves, amount to proof of guilt.
A breakdown of the list showed that several of the Nigerians were arrested over alleged financial crimes, particularly wire fraud and money laundering, while others were linked to drug-related offences, identity theft and other criminal allegations.
Those identified include Emmanuel Omowaiye, arrested in Richmond, Texas, over alleged mail fraud; Laurene Onwuka, arrested in Chantilly, Virginia, over alleged fraud and impersonation; and Olusegun Shonekan, arrested in Newark, New Jersey, over alleged wire fraud.
Others named were Olusegun Olaseni, arrested in Greencastle, Indiana, over an alleged amphetamine sale; Peter Ude, arrested in Atlanta, Georgia, over alleged wire fraud; and Newton Jemide, arrested in Fort Dix, New Jersey, over alleged wire fraud, conspiracy and mail fraud.
Shedrack Umukoro and Teslim Kiriji were listed as having been arrested in Yazoo City, Mississippi, over alleged money laundering.
Olasoji Akinbode was arrested in Kearny, New Jersey, over alleged fraud and impersonation, while Oluwatosin Afolabi was arrested in Conroe, Texas, over alleged fraud.
Alameen Adetunji Tokosi was arrested in Chicago, Illinois, over alleged drug possession, while Joshua Ipoade was arrested in Atlanta, Georgia, over alleged wire fraud.
Michael Orji, arrested in Oxford, Wisconsin, was listed in connection with alleged weapons violations, fraud, identity theft, wire fraud, false citizenship claims and money laundering.
Ahmadu Apooyin was arrested in Baltimore, Maryland, over a drug-related allegation, while Onomen Uduebor was arrested in Seattle, Washington, over alleged identity theft.
Charles Ochi and Daniel Eta were both listed as having been arrested in White Deer, Pennsylvania, over alleged money laundering and wire fraud, respectively.
Ifeanyi Ibennah was arrested in Tampa, Florida, over an allegation of cruelty towards a child, while Kazeem Runsewe was arrested in Thomson, Illinois, over alleged wire fraud.
Fatiu Lawal and Bright Eigbedion were arrested in Lompoc, California, over alleged wire fraud and money laundering, respectively.
Justin Akubueze was arrested in Orem, Utah, over alleged money laundering, while Moyinoluwaseun Okeowo was arrested in Orlando, Florida, over alleged larceny, forgery and concealing stolen property.
The list also included Babajide Oluwaseun Faseyi, arrested in Alden, New York, over an alleged assault, and the other individuals named by the department.
The disclosure forms part of the DHS’s public communication on immigration enforcement and its efforts to identify foreign nationals it says have criminal records.
The department did not provide, in the published list, detailed accounts of the circumstances surrounding each arrest, the status of every case or the final judicial outcomes.
It was also not immediately clear from the information released whether all the individuals were facing active criminal proceedings, had been convicted of the offences listed or were subject to separate immigration proceedings.
The publication of their names and photographs therefore does not, on its own, establish the guilt of every individual or confirm that all have been convicted.
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