Fraud tops offences as 134 Nigerians face US deportation - Punch Newspapers

Fraud-related offences and money laundering feature prominently among the offences listed against 134 Nigerians on a United States immigration enforcement register, an analysis of the records shows. The Nigerians are among foreign nationals identified by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and listed by the Department of Homeland Security in its “Worst of the Worst” register. The latest 10 names were added in August, taking the number of Nigerians on the register to 134, following an earlier list of 124 Nigerians published in July. The register identifies individuals arrested by ICE and lists the offences associated with their cases. An analysis of the offences listed against the 134 Nigerians shows that fraud, including wire and mail fraud, appears in 59 records, making it the most frequently occurring broad category. Money laundering follows, appearing in 17 records, while sex offences and theft or larceny each appear in 16 records. Identity theft is also listed against 16 Nigerians, while offences involving assault or other forms of violence appear in 24 records. Drug-related offences feature in 10 records, while conspiracy is listed in seven cases. Immigration-related offences, including illegal re-entry, alien smuggling and flight to avoid prosecution, appear in six records. Other offences, including weapons offences, forgery, computer crimes, counterfeiting, driving under the influence and public-order offences, appear in 18 records. The figures are based on the offences listed in the US records and not a count of convictions. They also should not be interpreted as 134 separate criminal cases involving only one offence each, as several individuals have multiple offences listed against them. For example, Temitope Bashua is listed for wire fraud, identity theft and fraud, while Chukwuemeka Okorocha is listed for wire fraud, dangerous drugs, possession of a weapon and aggravated assault. Similarly, Chukwuemeka Chinye is listed for fraud involving a banking-type institution, larceny, identity theft and conspiracy. The records also contain a range of violent and sexual offences. They include rape, sexual assault, sexual offences involving children, kidnapping, aggravated assault, robbery and manslaughter. Drug-related entries include cocaine and heroin offences, drug trafficking, possession of dangerous drugs and marijuana-related offences. S’Africa: Ninth woman found dead, Nigeria issues safety alert EFCC warns POS operators against aiding fraudsters CAC pushes unified corporate registers to curb illicit finance The DHS has described the register as identifying criminal immigrants arrested by ICE. In its wider public communications, the department has also published lists of individuals it says were convicted of specific crimes, although the status varies across individual records. The August update did not specify when the 10 newly listed Nigerians would be deported. The July publication similarly did not provide a specific deportation date for the 124 Nigerians listed at the time. Offences listed Fraud/fraud by wire/mail fraud — 59 records Assault/violent offences — 24 records Other offences — 18 records Money laundering — 17 records Identity theft — 16 records Sex offences — 16 records Theft/larceny — 16 records Drug offences — 10 records Conspiracy — 7 records Immigration-related offences — 6 records The categories overlap because some of the 134 records contain multiple offences. Therefore, the category figures add up to more than 134. The classification is based on the offence descriptions supplied in the US records. Fawzi Kehinde Fawzi is a journalist and subeditor covering a wide range of beats including politics, metro, and international news, among others. He also optimises stories for digital audiences.

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