Throwback Thursday: Nigerian Man Arrested Over Conspiracy to Defraud US, Photo, Name Released
- US' deportation campaign targets immigrants with criminal records, spotlighting Abdul Waris Akinsanya's case
- Department of Homeland Security shared Akinsanya’s criminal history on social media amid ongoing removals
- Controversial deportations highlight the President Donald Trump administration's focus on removing 'the worst of the worst'
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering world news and global affairs.
Washington - USA - As United States (US) authorities continue their deportation campaign targeting controversial immigrants, particularly individuals with criminal convictions, Legit.ng revisits a past case involving a Nigerian highlighted by the country’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Dozens of migrants have been flown to third countries, countries where the deportees had not previously lived, since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025.
Source: Getty Images
The US' mass deportation of illegal migrants was a key part of Trump's campaign for re-election.
In a post shared on the Department of Homeland Security’s verified X (formerly Twitter) page in July 2025, the US said that under the leadership of President Trump and Kristi Noem, the former US secretary of Homeland Security, ICE was removing “the worst of the worst” from American communities. The post featured a photo of Abdul Waris Akinsanya, a 28-year-old Nigerian citizen.
The statement read:
"Akinsanya’s criminal history includes convictions for forgery with conspiracy to defraud the United States and fleeing via vehicle in Oklahoma City."
Akinsanya's offences:
- Illegal alien
- Convicted of forgery
- Conspiracy to defraud the US
- Fleeing in a vehicle in Oklahoma City
Back in February, support for President Trump’s mass deportation policy had plummeted. Two-thirds of Americans polled by NPR said immigration enforcement had gone too far after agency officers killed two American citizens in Minneapolis. The Trump administration has spent the past several months trying to regain public support ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. The efforts have not stopped.
Source: Twitter
Sierra Leone receives deportees from US
Meanwhile, in May, Sierra Leone became the latest African country to receive migrants deported from the US amid President Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration.
A plane carrying nine West African migrants landed at Sierra Leone's international airport, just outside the capital, Freetown.
Nine deportees who arrived at Sierra Leone’s airport included seven men and two women, all of whom appeared forlorn. According to the BBC, one deportee resisted disembarking the plane before being physically removed.
US removes 355 West Africans
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria, will receive the highest number of deportees among West African countries after US authorities confirmed the eviction of 110 Nigerians as part of a wider crackdown that will see 355 nationals from the sub-region returned home.
The Department of Homeland Security published names and photographs of all 355 individuals listed for deportation under its “WOW” West Africa Operations Watch initiative.
Nigeria accounts for 110 of those listed, second only to Liberia with 94, and far ahead of Ghana’s 30 and Senegal’s 19.
Source: Legit.ng
