US has charged three Nigerians over alleged illegal voting and false citizenship claims.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged three Nigerian nationals and 13 other foreign nationals in separate cases involving alleged illegal voting, unlawful voter registration, false claims of US citizenship and other election-related offences.
The DOJ announced the cases on Friday, September 18, 2026, saying the charges were brought across several federal districts in the United States. The allegations include voting by non-citizens in federal elections, falsely claiming US citizenship to register or vote, naturalisation fraud, passport fraud and other offences uncovered during the investigations.
The three Nigerians identified by the department are Gladys Adaeze Okafor, 56; Helen Sayen Adams, 67; and Joshua Nmelichukwu Akpom, 27.
Okafor, a Nigerian national and lawful permanent resident living in Massachusetts, was arrested earlier this week and charged with unlawfully voting as a non-citizen.
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According to federal prosecutors, Okafor obtained lawful permanent resident status in December 2022 and was not a US citizen when she allegedly registered and voted.
The DOJ alleges that she submitted a voter registration form in July 2022 and signed a certification stating that she was a US citizen. Prosecutors further allege that she voted in the November 2022 federal midterm election and later registered again and voted in the March 2024 presidential primary.
The federal complaint alleges that Okafor knew she was not a US citizen when she voted. The charge of unlawful voting by a non-citizen carries a potential maximum sentence of one year in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $100,000, according to the Massachusetts US Attorney’s Office.
In Texas, Adams, 67, a Nigerian citizen and lawful permanent resident since May 2024, has been charged with voting by an alien in a federal election and making a false statement of citizenship in order to register to vote.
Prosecutors allege that Adams falsely claimed to be a US citizen when she registered to vote in Texas in June 2024 and subsequently voted in the November 2024 general election in Tarrant County.
The Northern District of Texas said Adams later admitted that she was not a US citizen.
Akpom, 27, also a Nigerian citizen and lawful permanent resident since 2016, faces a different charge involving his naturalisation application.
According to prosecutors, Akpom allegedly denied on a 2026 application for US citizenship that he had previously claimed US citizenship, registered to vote or voted, despite allegedly registering to vote in 2017 and voting in the 2018 general election.
The DOJ said the alleged voting conduct fell outside the applicable five-year statute of limitations, leading prosecutors to charge him over the alleged false statements made during the naturalisation process instead.
The three Nigerians are among 16 individuals charged in cases spanning several federal districts.
The other defendants include nationals of Mexico, India, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Antigua and Barbuda, Venezuela, Colombia and Russia.
According to the DOJ, the cases involve alleged offences ranging from illegal voting and unlawful voter registration to wire fraud, naturalisation fraud, passport fraud and an alleged unlawful firearm purchase uncovered during one investigation.
In one Idaho case, prosecutors allege that a Mexican national falsely claimed US citizenship to register and vote, while also allegedly engaging in wire fraud, making false statements in a passport application and committing other offences.
Other cases involve allegations of non-citizens voting in federal elections and falsely claiming US citizenship during voter registration or other official processes.
The DOJ said the cases form part of its enforcement efforts concerning federal election laws and related offences.
However, the department stressed that the charging documents contain allegations and that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
The charges against the three Nigerians therefore remain allegations at this stage, with the cases to proceed through the US federal court system.
