On June 24, 2026, the US court sentenced a 42-year-old serving Ogbaru local government chairman of Anambra state to five years in prison.
Franklin Nwadialor was convicted of romance scam to the tune of N3.3m in the United States.
WITHIN NIGERIA takes a look at Nwadialor journey into politics and his US trial and conviction.
Meteoric rise to power
Franklin Nwadialor was born in 1984 in Ogbaru local government area of Anambra state.
In September 2024, he constested for the Executive chairmanship of Ogbaru local government and wom under the platform of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.
His election was seen as the manifestation of the youths involvement in politics as he was elected at the age of forty years.
Arrest for romance scam
In any case, barely one month after his swearing-in Nwadialo was arrested upon his arrival at an airport in Texas by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on November 2.
He was arrested for alleged romance scam involving multiple women to the tune of N3.3m.
Reaction of Anambra state government/Opposition parties
WITHIN NIGERIA gathered that after his arrest, top officials of Anambra State Government have continued to feign ignorance over the plight of the LG chairman in the US.
Sources revealed that they have continued to claim that they were still studying the situation while awaiting the official response from the US authorities, even though the reports have saturated both local and international media spaces.
For instance, while the state Commissioner for Information, Law Mefor, insisted that the embattled local government chairman was not an appointee of the state government, the opposition and civil society groups maintained that the LG chair was part and parcel of the state government having been elected under the ruling party.
According Mr. Mefor, “You know the local government chairman is not an appointee of the governor. So, it’s not directly our concern. Local government is now autonomous. Our worry is that he is from our state.
“When the authenticity of the report is confirmed, what the law prescribes is what I believe would happen. I am not aware of any legal provision directing the state government to sack him, especially in this era of LG autonomy where the LG chairmen and officials are no longer under direct control of governors as elected LG officials and not appointed transition chairmen as was the case before now.”
Mefor further stated that “he was chosen by his people and the political party he belongs to. He’s not an appointee of Soludo, therefore I cannot speak for his conduct,” Mefor said.
“Those who elected him should answer such questions whether the offence is true or not because I only speak for the state government and not local government. Autonomy has come now,” he said.
As a result of this, there have been reactions and counter reactions from both the state’s ruling party, All Progressives Grand Alliance, members of major opposition parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party, All Progressives Congress and the Labour Party, as well as civil society groups and citizens of the state, who have insisted that the state government cannot continue to turn a blind eye, while governance suffered at the grassroots as a result of incompetence.
The Deputy Publicity Secretary, Labour Party, in the state, Mazi Chibuike Okeke, said, “While it is yet unclear the circumstances behind the arrest of the Ogbaru LG chairman and while he still remains a suspect pending investigation, one thing is clear, his arrest has cast disturbing shadows over the APGA-led government and Soludo’s administration.
“And for a state governed by someone who is believed to have zero-tolerance for such acts of criminality and misdemeanour, the news is disheartening, just as it is distasteful. The nature and scale of the allegations leading to Nwadialo’s arrest in the US has tarnished Soludo’s administration’s image and raised questions about its integrity and recruitment approach, especially as all the APGA candidates, who later emerged winners of the 21 LGAs, were almost single-handedly and practically handpicked by the governor.
“It then raises the concern that these people don’t have the interest of the grassroots people at heart as their intention means they have come to siphon the local government funds and further impoverish the people. The question now is: who oversees Ogbaru LG in the absence of the substantive chairman?”
Also reacting to the development in an interview with our correspondent, a PDP chieftain and spokesman, Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign (2023), Chibuike Uloka, maintained that the lack of a formal statement from the government reflected poorly on both APGA and Soludo’s administration, hinting at a possible complicity or at least an unwillingness to address the allegations.
He said, “The recent arrest of Nwadialo, the newly-elected Chairman of Ogbaru Local Government, casts a disturbing shadow over the APGA-led government and Prof Chukwuma Soludo’s administration. For a state known for producing global icons who uplift both Anambra State and Nigeria’s image, this news is disheartening.
“While Nwadialo remains a suspect pending investigation, the nature and scale of the allegations leading to his arrest in the US tarnishes Soludo administration’s image and raises questions about its integrity and recruitment approach.
“While we await a conclusive verdict on Nwadialo’s alleged involvement, the silence from Soludo’s administration since the news broke is concerning. This inaction only adds to the perception that the administration may be shielding questionable characters under the guise of governance, contradicting the values of transparency and integrity that should be associated with Professor Soludo’s esteemed reputation.”
On his part, the state Publicity Secretary of the APC, Okelo Madukaife, called for the resignation of the embattled LG chair from the US.
“Ogbaru legislature should receive his letter of resignation and examine the content of the criminal charges against him. Details of the particulars of his arrest should be placed before Ogbaru legislature for scrutiny, leading to a proper post-resignation action as he faces his issues in the US. It is not a good advertisement for Anambra State and indeed Nigeria. The state government cannot distance itself from the mess,” he added.
However, while countering the stance of the opposition chieftains, the National Publicity Secretary of APGA, Ejiofor Opara, insisted that the party was not silent on the matter, saying its officials were studying the situation before arriving at a conclusion.
He said, “Actually, we saw it on social media the way every other person did. And APGA as a party is yet to actually sit and study the developing situation and circumstances around it. And when we take an official stand, it will duly be communicated to the media. But as it were, you know that nature abhors vacuum, so, having a replacement for an absentee chairman that is off duty; that is why there is a deputy. So, in his absence, the law doesn’t permit any vacuum, the deputy has assumed the chairman’s responsibilities and fully so too.
“As a party, we frown at any act of fraud or criminality and anything that actually threatens legality, that is why we encourage legal hard work.
“So, if it turns out to be fully established, away from the social media speculations that the LG chair is indicted or possibly convicted for any act of criminality, our constitution permits us to expel such a person from the party. Of course, our constitution cannot go counter to the constitution of the nation or international law.
“The public should be assured that we are studying the situation and they should know that we have a history of standing vehemently against such a criminality, act or any form of misdemeanour from our members. You saw our quick and swift response on the case of the lawmaker who assaulted a Bolt driver, so, if the situation is fully established, we will take our stand.”
Details of the indictment
According to US in its statement, the Department of Justice said Nwadialo used various versions of the name ‘Giovanni’ when he met his victims online on websites such as Match, Zoosk, and Christian Café.
“Nwadialo used false images for his profile and typically told the victims that he was in the military and deployed overseas so he could not meet the victims in person,” the statement said.
“Using these personas, Nwadialo invented many reasons he needed the victims to send him money.
“In one such case in 2020, he indicated he had been fined by the military for revealing his location to the victim. He asked the victim to help him pay the $150,000 fine. In all, that victim was defrauded of at least $2.4 million.”
The Department of Justice also cited another instance where Nwadialo allegedly contacted a second victim in 2019 to help move funds from US accounts to accounts controlled by him and his syndicate.
“In this instance, Nwadialo represented that he needed the help moving money in connection with his father’s death. The victim transferred at least $330,000 to the accounts controlled by the defendant,” the department stated.
“A third victim was defrauded by Nwadialo when he told her that he was investing money for her. He claimed that a check she received from another victim was proceeds from her investments, and he had her reinvest the money in a specific cryptocurrency account that he controlled. The victim transferred at least $270,000 at Nwadialo’s direction.
“Finally, in August 2020, Nwadialo defrauded another victim who he met on an online dating site and caused this victim to transfer at least $310,000 by claiming he needed financial assistance, including help paying for his father’s funeral or his son’s school tuition.”
Conviction/Sentencing
After two years of legal battle, a District Court in Tacoma, Washington, on Wednesday, June 24, 2026 sentenced a 42-year-old Franklin Ikechukwu Nwadialo, to five years in prison for his involvement in a multi-million dollar online fraud scheme.
The sentencing followed the indictment charging him with 14 counts of wire fraud related to an online romance scam that defrauded eight victims of approximately $3.5 million over 15 years.
WITHIN NIGERIA gathered that during the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright described the financial and emotional impact on the victims as devastating, noting that the scheme caused significant personal isolation and distress.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd also stated that the defendant manipulated vulnerable individuals by inventing various false personas and scenarios to gain their trust and financial assets.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Seattle field office, and prosecutors confirmed that the court has ordered appropriate legal accountability for the total financial losses incurred by the victims.
However, Nwadialor has been replace with Umunna Charles after his appointment in February 2026. Another local government election has been slated to hold on August 29, 2026.
