A review of United States immigration enforcement records reveals that fraud-related offences and money laundering are among the most common charges faced by 134 Nigerians listed on a register maintained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
These individuals appear in the DHS’s “Worst of the Worst” register, which catalogues foreign nationals arrested by ICE, and details the offences attributed to them.
According to the records, 10 additional Nigerians were added to the register in August, raising the total from 124 in July to 134. The analysis shows that fraud—including wire and mail fraud—appears most frequently, cited in 59 records. Money laundering follows, appearing in 17 cases. Other notable offences include assault or violent crimes (24 records), sex offences (16 records), theft or larceny (16 records), identity theft (16 records), drug offences (10 records), conspiracy (7 records), and immigration-related violations such as illegal re-entry, alien smuggling, and flight to avoid prosecution (6 records). Additional offences, such as weapons violations, forgery, computer crimes, counterfeiting, driving under the influence, and public-order offences, are cited in 18 records.
It’s important to note that these figures reflect the offences listed in U.S. enforcement records and do not represent convictions. Furthermore, the total number of offences exceeds the number of individuals, as many have multiple charges. For instance, Temitope Bashua faces charges of wire fraud, identity theft, and fraud; Chukwuemeka Okorocha is listed for wire fraud, drug offences, weapons possession, and aggravated assault; while Chukwuemeka Chinye is named in cases of banking-related fraud, larceny, identity theft, and conspiracy.
The register includes a range of violent and sexual offences, such as rape, sexual assault, crimes involving children, kidnapping, aggravated assault, robbery, and manslaughter. Drug offences range from cocaine and heroin trafficking to possession of dangerous drugs and marijuana.
The DHS describes the register as a tool for identifying criminal immigrants arrested by ICE. While the department has published lists of individuals convicted of specific crimes, the legal status of each case varies. The August update did not specify deportation dates for the newly listed Nigerians, echoing the lack of such details in the July release.
Summary of Offences (Total Records Exceed 134 Due to Overlapping Categories):
- Fraud (including wire/mail fraud): 59
- Assault/violent offences: 24
- Other offences: 18
- Money laundering: 17
- Identity theft: 16
- Sex offences: 16
- Theft/larceny: 16
- Drug offences: 10
- Conspiracy: 7
- Immigration-related offences: 6
These categories overlap because many individuals face multiple charges, as reflected in the U.S. records.
