The United States Department of Justice, DOJ, has arrested two Nigerian nationals and others over their involvement in illegal voting, fake voter registration and false claim of American citizenship linked to federal elections.
This was announced in a statement on Monday as the department clamped down on suspected election-related crimes.
According to the DOJ, the arrested Nigerians are 61-year-old Mohammed Omar Hassan and 74-year-old Michael Agah.
The department further stated that Hassan was charged in the Southern District of Texas for voting as a non-citizen while Agah was charged in the Western District of North Carolina for voting as a non-citizen and falsely claiming to be a US citizen 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,” the statement said.
It added that it charged Agah, a lawful permanent resident, with voting by an alien and making a false claim to US citizenship to vote.
The DOJ accused Agah of falsely claiming that he was a US citizen on an Authorization to Vote Form, noting that on November 5, 2024, he voted in a federal election.
Speaking, Attorney General Todd Blanche said the announcement is the biggest surge in voter-fraud arrests since Trump returned to office.