Three Nigerians are among 16 foreign nationals facing charges in the United States over alleged election-related offences, including illegal voting and falsely claiming to be American citizens.
The US Department of Justice announced the cases on Friday, saying the defendants had been charged in separate federal districts with offences ranging from unlawful voter registration and voting by non-citizens to naturalisation, passport and wire fraud.
The three Nigerians are Gladys Adaeze Okafor, 56; Helen Sayen Adams, 67; and Joshua Nmelichukwu Akpom, 27.
Okafor, a Nigerian citizen and lawful permanent resident in Massachusetts, had previously been arrested over allegations that she registered and voted in the 2022 midterm election and the 2024 presidential primary.
According to the Justice Department, Okafor obtained lawful permanent resident status in December 2022 but was not a US citizen and had not applied for citizenship when she allegedly registered and voted.
Prosecutors further allege that she signed a voter registration certification declaring that she was a US citizen.
Adams, who is also a Nigerian citizen and lawful permanent resident, was charged in the Northern District of Texas “with Voting by an Alien in a Federal Election and False Statement of Citizenship in Order to Register to Vote.”
The DOJ alleged that Adams falsely stated that she was a US citizen when she registered to vote in Texas in June 2024. She subsequently allegedly voted in the November 2024 general election.
The department said Adams became a lawful permanent resident in May 2024.
Akpom’s case centres on alleged false statements made during his application for US citizenship.
The DOJ said the 27-year-old Nigerian, who has held lawful permanent resident status since 2016, allegedly denied on a 2026 naturalisation application that he had previously claimed US citizenship, registered to vote or voted.
Prosecutors, however, allege that he registered to vote in 2017 and cast a ballot in the 2018 general election.
“Due to the five-year statute of limitations, prosecutors relied on the naturalisation offence rather than the voting conduct,” an earlier statement said.
The Justice Department said the three Nigerians were part of a wider group of 16 foreign nationals facing charges across the US.
The other defendants are nationals of Mexico, India, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Antigua and Barbuda, Venezuela, Colombia and Russia.
The cases involve various allegations, including voting while ineligible, falsely claiming US citizenship in order to register or vote, wire fraud, naturalisation fraud, passport fraud and an unlawful firearm purchase uncovered during one of the investigations.
The DOJ stressed that the charges contained in complaints, indictments and other court documents are allegations.
It added that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
