By Emem Nsini-Godwin
Nigeria has once again featured prominently in the Trump administration’s latest deportation drive, with 124 Nigerian nationals listed for removal from the United States as part of an expanded immigration enforcement campaign targeting undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) disclosed the figure in a statement published on its website on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, describing those listed as part of its “worst of the worst” category – a roster of foreign nationals arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) over criminal convictions.
According to the agency, the deportations form part of President Donald Trump’s renewed immigration enforcement agenda.
“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 statement said. “ICE personnel are fulfilling President Trump’s promise and carrying out mass deportations—starting with the worst of the worst.”
Although the DHS announced that 124 Nigerians are slated for deportation, it has so far published the names and photographs of only 82 individuals. The agency did not disclose the identities of the remaining 42 or provide details of the offences attributed to each person. It also did not indicate when the deportations would take place.
The Nigerians whose names have been released cut across several ethnic groups, reflecting the country’s diversity.
Among those identified as Yoruba are Sunday Adediora, Olaniyi Ojikutu, Boluwaji Akingunsoye, Emmanuel Mayegun Adeola, Bamidele Bolatiwa, Aderemi Akefe, Oluwole Odunowo, Bolarinwa Salau, Oriyomi Aloba, Oludayo Adeagbo, Olaniyi Akintuyi, Olatunde Oladinni, Jelili Qudus, Abayomi Daramola, Toluwani Adebakin, Olamide Jolayemi, Olugbenga Abass, Oyewole Balogun, Adeyinka Ademokunla, Christian Ogunghide, Olamide Adedipe, Olajide Olateru-Olagbegi, Omotayo Akinto, Oluwafemi Orimolade, Akinwale Adaramaja, Boluwatife Afolabi, Olayinka A. Jones, Sakiru Ambali, Dasola Abdulraheem, Adewale Aladekoba, Akeem Adeleke, Olufemi Olutiola, Abimbola Esan, Adetunji Olofinlade, Quazeem Adeyinka, Oluwaseun Kassim, Olumide Morakinyo, Abraham Ola Osoko, Abdul Akinsanya, Elizabeth Adeshewo and Olusegun Martins.
The Igbo names published by the DHS include Marcus Unigwe, Ejike Asiegbunam, Ifeanyi Nwaozomudoh, Chibundu Anuebunwa, Kenneth Unanka, Uche Diuno, Chinonso Ochie, Okechukwu Okoronkwo, Cyril Odogwu, Ifeanyi Echigeme, Patrick Onogwu, Chukwuemeka Okorie, Chima Orji, Ifeanyi Okoro, Chibuzo Nwaonu, Oluchi Jennifer, Solomon Wilfred, Christopher Ojuma, Benji Macaulay, Joseph Ogbara and Elizabeth Miller.
Others identified include Kingsley Ariegwe, Abiemwense Obanor, Dennis Ofuoma, Bernard Oretekor, Henry Idiagbonya, Kingsley Ibhadore and Jeremiah Ehis from Edo; Mkpouto Etukudoh, Joshua Ineh, Theophilus Anwana and Peter Equere from the Efik, Akwa Ibom and Cross River axis; Ayibatonye Bienzigha, Daro Kosin and Isaiah Okere from the Niger Delta; and Sunday Kunkushi, Usman Momoh, Talatu Dada, Aishatu Umaru, Kamaludeen Giwa and Suraj Tairu from the Hausa/Fulani extraction.
The identities of the remaining 42 Nigerians listed for deportation have yet to be made public by the DHS.
This is not the first time Nigerian nationals have appeared in significant numbers on the administration’s deportation roster. In early February 2026, the DHS announced that 79 Nigerians had been identified for removal under a similar enforcement operation. At the time, officials said those individuals had been convicted of offences including fraud, drug trafficking, assault, manslaughter and robbery.
The latest disclosure comes amid increasingly strained migration relations between the United States and Nigeria. In June 2026, Washington imposed partial visa restrictions on Nigerian citizens, citing concerns over identity management, information-sharing, visa overstay rates and security screening.
U.S. officials have maintained that the latest deportation exercise forms part of a broader immigration enforcement strategy launched following President Donald Trump’s return to office on January 20, 2025. The administration says the policy prioritises the arrest and removal of undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions as part of its wider border security and immigration agenda.
While the DHS has publicly identified the Nigerians listed for deportation, it has not released case-specific information linking each individual to a particular offence, nor has it announced when the removals are expected to be carried out.
