Top five crimes that land Nigerians in U.S. prisons
From 2016 to 2025, 3,968 Nigerians were jailed in U.S. federal prisons for crimes ranging from fraud, bribery, extortion, drug trafficking, burglary, larceny, and sexual offences, among others, a document obtained by Peoples Gazette shows.
The document listed the names of 3,968 Nigerians, their crimes, and the years they were jailed for crimes ranging from fraud, bribery, extortion, burglary, larceny, and sex offences from 2016 to 2025.
Approximately 400 Nigerians are jailed annually.
Fraud, bribery, extortion
At the top of the list of crimes for which the 3,968 Nigerians were jailed was fraud, bribery and extortion, the document stated. From 2016 to 2025, 1,978 Nigerians were jailed for involvement in fraud, bribery, and extortion.
The document shows that an average of 200 Nigerians were jailed annually for the crimes, accounting for about 50 per cent of the total.
“Unspecified” crimes
A total of 828 Nigerians were jailed for unspecified crimes, according to the document. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons told The Gazette that “some individuals don’t have an offence listed. That just means that we don’t have their sentencing information yet”.
Burglary, larceny
Out of the 3,968 Nigerians jailed between 2016 and 2025, 434 were sentenced for burglary and larceny, making it the second-largest category after fraud, bribery and extortion.
Drug trafficking
During the period under review, 422 Nigerians were jailed for drug trafficking-related crimes. This represents 10.64 per cent of the total number of Nigerians jailed.
Immigration fraud
Between 2016 and 2025, 74 Nigerians were jailed for immigration fraud. This represents about two per cent of the total number of Nigerians jailed.
Weapons and explosives
From 2016 to 2025, 64 Nigerians were jailed for possessing illegal weapons and explosives. This represents about 1.6 per cent of Nigerians incarcerated during the period.
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