Nigerian-Born UK Resident Pleads Guilty to Illegal Voting in US, Risks Six-Year Jail Term

A 63-year-old British citizen of Nigerian descent, Ada Ngozi Otuka, has admitted to unlawfully voting in U.S. elections and falsely claiming American citizenship, offences that could see her spend up to six years behind bars.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Otuka, who lives in Katy, Texas, pleaded guilty to illegal voting by a non-citizen and making a false claim of U.S. citizenship during her voter registration process.

Although she is a lawful permanent resident of the United States, Otuka was not legally entitled to vote in federal elections. Court records revealed that she cast ballots in multiple election cycles, including 2012, 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2024.

Authorities said concerns about her voter registration surfaced in 2025 after officials received information indicating that she was not a U.S. citizen. She was notified that her registration was under review but failed to respond. Investigators also found that she later disclosed on a naturalisation application that she had previously voted despite being ineligible.

Otuka now faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison for falsely claiming U.S. citizenship, along with an additional year for illegal voting.

The investigation was led by the FBI’s Houston field office, Homeland Security Investigations, the Texas Attorney General’s Office and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Liesel Roscher is handling the prosecution.