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A 23-year-old Nigerian student in the United States, Godson Oghenebrume, has been sentenced to 27 months in prison and faces deportation after admitting to illegally possessing a firearm and firing multiple shots during a dispute with his ex-girlfriend, who had arrived at his apartment with their infant child.
The sentence was handed down by U.S. Chief Judge Shelly Dick after Oghenebrume was convicted of possessing a firearm as “an alien admitted to the United States under a non-immigrant visa,” according to a statement by U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana, Kurt Wall. Wall added that Oghenebrume “is also subject to removal or deportation from the United States upon completion of his sentence.”
According to prosecutors, Oghenebrume admitted that “on February 7, 2025, Oghenebrume possessed a Glock model 43X, 9mm pistol, while he was admitted to the US under a non-immigrant F-1 student visa.”
Authorities said Oghenebrume was in his apartment with another woman when his former girlfriend, who is also the mother of their infant child, arrived with the baby. “Oghenebrume, who had been in the apartment with another young woman, went outside, and an argument ensued between him and the mother of his child. During this argument, and while the baby was present, Oghenebrume discharged the firearm,” the statement said.
The confrontation continued after the woman entered the apartment and found him with the other woman. “That argument spilled out of the apartment, and Oghenebrume discharged the firearm more times as the mother of his child fled. Multiple bullet strikes were observed in the walls of the apartment complex,” Wall said.
Prosecutors further alleged that Oghenebrume smashed his ex-girlfriend’s phone and took the baby before deputies from the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office arrived. They said he ignored officers’ commands, discarded the Glock pistol into nearby shrubs and was arrested shortly afterwards. A neighbour who heard the gunfire told investigators “his ears had been ringing.”
During a post-Miranda interview, detectives asked Oghenebrume why he fired the weapon. “He claimed that he had wanted his ex-girlfriend to go home and that he had shot the gun to scare her away,” the statement said.
The conviction comes as U.S. authorities continue to enforce immigration laws against foreign nationals convicted of crimes. Barely a week ago, Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported another Nigerian, Ayodeji Ajayi, following multiple criminal convictions, including domestic violence, after he remained in the country illegally years after entering on a student visa.
