Convicted Nigerian sprinter and former Olympic Games prospect, Godson Oghenebrume has been cited as a victim of USA president, Donald Trump’s controversial ‘take back America policy,’ which imposes stringent clauses on immigrants and foreigners overstaying in his country without valid visas.
Oghenebrume’s case is still drawing comments across the United States, with many Nigerians and other Africans exxpressing symnpathy for him, after he was sentenced to 27 months in a federal prison.
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However, many of those who expressed sympathy for him also admitted he played into the hands of the law, especially after he pleaded guilty to a charge of illegally possessing a firearm while residing in the country on a student’s visa.
It has, however, been regarded as a very sad setback for the 23-year-old athlete, who once clocked a personal best of 9.90s in the 100 metres, won a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) silver medal, represented Nigeria in international competitions and earned an athletics scholarship to Louisiana State University (LSU).
His case becomes even more pathetic because he also faces removal or deportation proceedings after completing his prison sentence, but US Attorney Kurt L. Wall praised the investigative efforts of the Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office.
The prosecution, which was led by Assistant United States Attorneys Jeremy S. Johnson and Lyman E. Thornton III, based their suit on what authorities admitted was part of ‘Operation Take Back America,’ which resulted from an altercation the athlete had with his ex-girlfriend.
The poicy has been dubbed in media circles as ‘a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.’
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana disclosed in a statement published on its website, “A Nigerian national residing in Baton Rouge was convicted for possession of a firearm by an alien admitted under a non-immigrant visa. He is also subject to removal or deportation from the United States upon completion of his sentence.”
It was gathered further that the emotionally shattering episode began on the night of February 7, 2025, when Oghenebrume was in his apartment with another young woman, but his ex-girlfriend, who is also the mother of his infant child, arrived with their baby.
Her arrival led to heated confrontations inside and outside the residence during which, while the infant was present, Oghenebrume discharged the firearm repeatedly, in what he later said were his attempts to scare her off, but he ended up exposing himself to public disorder charges, which many nieghbours witnessed.
However, president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Chief Tonobok Okowa has assured that Oghenebrume will not be treated as a leper when he returns home, and promised that the athlete will be supported to get his career back on track after serving his sentence.
“It is sad, but things happen in life. If he eventually gets deported, we will take him back. We are not happy to hear it, but we will not reject him. He has the talent to come back and that will not be the end of his career,” Okowa told The Punch newspaper.
