NEWS
US Charges 2 Nigerians, 61 Other Nationals Over Alleged Illegal Voting
US Charges 2 Nigerians, 61 Other Nationals Over Alleged Illegal Voting
Two Nigerian nationals and 61 other foreign nationals have been charged by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) for alleged election-related offences, including illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration and falsely claiming American citizenship.
The 63 individuals are accused of various violations of federal election laws, with the charges announced on Monday as part of the administration’s ongoing efforts to prosecute alleged voter fraud.
The Nigerians named in the cases are Mohammed Omar Hassan, 61, and Michael Agah, 74, both of whom are lawful permanent residents of the United States.
According to information published on the Justice Department’s website, Hassan was charged in the Southern District of Texas with voting in a federal election as a non-US citizen.
Agah, meanwhile, faces charges in the Western District of North Carolina for allegedly voting as a non-citizen and falsely claiming American citizenship to participate in an election.
The department alleged that Hassan voted in the 2022 and 2024 elections despite not being a US citizen.
In Agah’s case, prosecutors accused him of falsely declaring himself an American citizen on an Authorization to Vote Form before casting his ballot in a federal election on November 5, 2024.
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The latest prosecutions come amid an intensified campaign against alleged election-related offences under President Donald Trump’s administration.
US Attorney General Todd Blanche described the latest announcement as the biggest increase in voter-fraud arrests since Trump returned to the White House.
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“Today’s announcement marks the largest surge of voter-fraud arrests since President Trump returned to office,” Blanche said.
“These foreign nationals allegedly took advantage of the trust of the American people and flouted the laws that govern our nation’s elections. This Department of Justice will continue investigating and prosecuting voter fraud to restore confidence in our electoral system,” he added.
The Justice Department disclosed that it had charged 195 non-US citizens across 25 states with offences relating to illegal voting and voter registration within the preceding nine weeks.
The figure brings the total number of individuals charged with voting fraud-related offences since the beginning of the Trump administration to 239, according to the department.
The latest cases follow another round of prosecutions involving Nigerians and other foreign nationals announced less than two months earlier.
On September 19, 2026, three Nigerians, Gladys Adaeze Okafor, 56; Helen Sayen Adams, 67; and Joshua Nmelichukwu Akpom, 27, were among those charged with alleged election-related offences.
Okafor and Adams were accused of falsely claiming American citizenship to register and vote in elections, while Akpom faced allegations of making false statements in his application for naturalisation.
The earlier cases involved allegations of unlawful voter registration, illegal voting, misrepresentation of citizenship status and other offences connected to the electoral process.
The Justice Department said the latest prosecutions were filed in several federal judicial districts, including those in Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee, California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Other foreign nationals facing charges reportedly include citizens of Mexico, Jamaica, Canada, the Philippines, India, Colombia and the United Kingdom, among others.
The department, however, emphasised that the charges contained in complaints, indictments and informations are allegations and do not constitute proof of guilt.
All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
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