A Nigerian man, Chimaobim Adedayo Igbojekwe, was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after pleading guilty to a disorderly conduct charge following an incident involving alleged indecent exposure in Pennsylvania.
Igbojekwe was arrested by local police on September 27 in East Pennsboro Township after officers responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle. According to the account of the incident, he was found with his trousers off and his genitals exposed in a residential area.
Police charged him with indecent exposure and two counts of disorderly conduct. He later pleaded guilty to one disorderly conduct charge. The indecent exposure charge and the second disorderly conduct charge were withdrawn.
ICE took Igbojekwe into custody on October 1, four days after his initial arrest. His detention brings his immigration status into focus, as U.S. authorities say he remained in the country after his authorised period of stay had expired.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also linked Igbojekwe to local reports identifying him as a canvasser for Janelle Stelson, the Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District, at the time of the incident.
However, Stelson’s campaign rejected that account, saying Igbojekwe had never worked for the campaign and that its staff had not heard of him before his arrest. The campaign’s statement disputes the reported connection between the Nigerian national and Stelson’s election operation.
According to DHS, Igbojekwe legally entered the United States in June 2017. His authorised stay expired in November 2019, but he remained in the country. In September 2021, he was granted deferred action by the Biden administration, a form of temporary protection from removal that does not itself provide permanent immigration status.
His detention by ICE followed the resolution of the disorderly conduct case through a guilty plea. The available account does not establish whether immigration authorities have initiated further proceedings or what the eventual outcome of his detention will be.
