The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has identified no fewer than 79 Nigerians for deportation after listing them among criminal immigrants described as the “worst of the worst,” following convictions for a range of serious offences under United States law.
The agency said the individuals were convicted of crimes including fraud, drug trafficking, assault, manslaughter and robbery, adding that their cases formed part of a broader enforcement effort targeting criminal non-citizens considered a threat to public safety.
According to the U.S government, the publication of the list was intended to underscore the government’s resolve to prioritise the removal of individuals with serious criminal records, while signalling a tougher posture on immigration enforcement under the current administration.
Details of the list were published on the DHS website yesterday, alongside a note explaining that the arrests were carried out by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a renewed nationwide crackdown on criminal immigrants.
“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is highlighting the worst of the worst criminal aliens arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” the note stated. “Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, the hardworking men and women of DHS and ICE are fulfilling President Trump’s promise and carrying out mass deportations, starting with the worst of the worst.”
Among the Nigerians named on the list are Boluwaji Akingunsoye, Ejike Asiegbunam, Emmanuel Mayegun Adeola, Bamidele Bolatiwa, Ifeanyi Nwaozomudoh, Aderemi Akefe, Solomon Wilfred, Chibundu Anuebunwa, Joshua Ineh, Usman Momoh and Oluwole Odunowo.
Other individuals listed include Oludayo Adeagbo, Olaniyi Akintuyi, Talatu Dada, Olatunde Oladinni, Jelili Qudus, Abayomi Daramola, Toluwani Adebakin, Olamide Jolayemi, Isaiah Okere, Benji Macaulay and Joseph Ogbara, according to the published record.
Further names on the register include Olusegun Martins, Kingsley Ariegwe, Olugbenga Abass, Oyewole Balogun, Adeyinka Ademokunla, Patrick Onogwu, Olajide Olateru-Olagbegi, Omotayo Akinto, Kenneth Unanka, Jeremiah Ehis and Oluwafemi Orimolade.
The list also features Okechukwu Okoronkwo, Sakiru Ambali, Kamaludeen Giwa, Cyril Odogwu, Suraj Tairu, Peter Equere, Dasola Abdulraheem, Adewale Aladekoba, Akeem Adeleke, Chukwuemeka Okorie and Abimbola Esan.
The intensified deportation drive has reportedly unsettled parts of the Nigerian immigrant community in the United States, with some individuals said to be avoiding public spaces, while others are returning to Nigeria quietly amid the ongoing enforcement campaign linked to President Donald Trump’s immigration policy.
