US charges two Nigerians, others over illegal voting

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 US citizenship in connection with federal elections.

The charges, involving 63 individuals across the country, include voting by non-US citizens in federal elections, falsely claiming American citizenship to register or vote and submitting fraudulent voter registration applications.

The department announced the charges on Monday, as part of an ongoing crackdown on alleged election-related offences.

The Nigerians were identified as Mohammed Omar Hassan, 61, and Michael Agah, 74, both lawful permanent residents of the US.

According to a statement published on the department’s website, Hassan was charged in the Southern District of Texas with voting by a non-US 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 US citizenship to vote.

“Nigerian national Mohammed Omar Hassan, 61, a lawful permanent resident, has been charged with voting by an alien. Hassan allegedly voted in the 2022 and 2024 elections.

“Nigerian national Michael Agah, 74, a lawful permanent resident, has been charged with voting by an alien and making a false claim to U.S. citizenship to vote. Agah allegedly falsely stated and claimed that he was a U.S. citizen on an Authorization to Vote Form. Then on Nov. 5, 2024, Agah voted in a federal election,” the statement read.

The latest charges come amid an intensified crackdown on alleged voter fraud under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said the latest announcement represented the largest surge in voter-fraud arrests since Trump returned to office.

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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 department said it had charged 195 non-US citizens across 25 states with illegal voting and registration offences in the preceding nine weeks, bringing the total number of people charged with voting fraud-related offences since the beginning of the administration to 239.

The latest development comes less than two months after the department announced charges against three other Nigerians and 13 foreign nationals over alleged election-related offences.

As reported by PUNCH Online on September 19, 2026, the Nigerians were identified as Gladys Adaeze Okafor, 56; Helen Sayen Adams, 67; and Joshua Nmelichukwu Akpom, 27.

Okafor and Adams were accused of falsely claiming US citizenship to register and vote in elections, while Akpom was charged with making false statements in connection with his naturalisation application.

The September cases involved allegations of illegal voting, unlawful voter registration, false claims of citizenship and other election-related offences.

The Justice Department said the latest cases were being prosecuted across several federal judicial districts, including Texas, North Carolina, Tennessee, California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

It listed nationals of Mexico, Jamaica, Canada, the Philippines, India, Colombia, the United Kingdom and several other countries among those charged.

The department clarified that complaints, indictments and informations contain allegations and that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.