ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- A 26-year-old citizen of Niger, Moctar Ahmadou Gouroudja Ahmadou, has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison in the United States on firearm charges linked to his status in the country. U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani said.
Hamdani announced the verdict following a one-day trial, where the jury deliberated for approximately one hour before finding Ahmadou guilty on 14 March, 2023.
U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett handed down the sentence and ordered Ahmadou to serve 78 months in federal prison.
Additionally, Ahmadou is expected to lose his status in the country and undergo removal proceedings after serving his sentence.
During the hearing, the court considered additional evidence related to Ahmadou’s discussions with an individual associated with the attack on Naval Air Station Corpus Christi.
It was revealed that Ahmadou had downloaded jihad videos, including beheadings, and discussed the possibility of traveling to Palestine for jihad.
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In justifying the sentence, the court highlighted that Ahmadou, initially invited to the U.S. for educational purposes under a student visa, had violated that privilege.
U.S. Attorney Hamdani emphasized, “This sentence sends a strong message to those like Ahmadou – stay in the classroom and away from the gun range; otherwise, your American education will come not from a University but from the prison library.
“Moctar Ahmadou, like thousands every year, traveled to the United States under an F-1 visa in search of American education,” said Hamdani.
“But when he took that quest for knowledge to a gun range, picked up a gun, handled the ammo and fired it, he went from student to criminal.”
While Ahmadou lawfully entered the U.S. on a nonimmigrant F1 visa for studies at the North American University in Stafford, he violated the terms of his status by illegally using a firearm and ammunition.
The jury learned that Ahmadou, on or around May 17, 2021, handled and fired handguns and rifles at a Texas-based gun range, violating the restrictions imposed by his student visa.
The FBI led the investigation with assistance from various agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Department of State – Diplomatic Security Service; Homeland Security Investigations; Customs and Border Protection; U.S. Customs and Immigration Service; and Texas Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steven Schammel and Richard Bennett, along with Trial Attorney Michael Dittoe from the Justice Department’s Counter-Terrorism Section.
Ahmadou remains in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility.