The United States Department of Justice has charged two Nigerians and dozens of other foreign nationals with alleged illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration and making false claims of American citizenship in connection with federal elections.
The charges, involving 63 individuals across different parts of the country, were announced on Monday as part of an intensified crackdown on election-related offences under President Donald Trump’s administration.
The Nigerians were identified as Mohammed Omar Hassan, 61, and Michael Agah, 74, both lawful permanent residents of the United States.
According to the Justice Department, Hassan was charged in the Southern District of Texas with voting by a non-US citizen.
Prosecutors alleged that he participated in the 2022 and 2024 elections despite not being an American citizen.
Agah, on the other hand, was charged in the Western District of North Carolina with voting by a non-US citizen and falsely claiming American citizenship to vote.
The department alleged that Agah falsely declared himself a US citizen on an Authorization to Vote Form before participating in the November 5, 2024 federal election.
In a statement published on its website, the Justice Department said the cases involved allegations of illegal voting, fraudulent registration applications and false claims of citizenship.
US Attorney General Todd Blanche described the development as the largest surge of voter-fraud arrests since President Trump returned to office.
Blanche said the administration would continue investigating and prosecuting individuals accused of violating American election laws.
He maintained that foreign nationals who participated in elections illegally would be held accountable under the country’s electoral laws.
The department further disclosed that it had charged 195 non-US citizens across 25 states with illegal voting and registration offences within the preceding nine weeks.
The latest development brings the total number of individuals charged with voting fraud-related offences since the beginning of the Trump administration to 239.
The announcement comes less than two months after the Justice Department disclosed charges against three other Nigerians and 13 foreign nationals over alleged election-related offences.
The Nigerians identified in the September cases were Gladys Adaeze Okafor, 56, Helen Sayen Adams, 67, and Joshua Nmelichukwu Akpom, 27.
Okafor and Adams were accused of falsely claiming American citizenship to register and vote in elections, while Akpom was charged with making false statements in connection with his naturalisation application.
The latest cases are being prosecuted across several federal judicial districts, including 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.
The Justice Department stressed that complaints, indictments and other charging documents contain allegations and do not establish guilt.
It added that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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