On March 3rd 1993, Okechukwu Oguejifor Okpala, also known as Okey Garry Okpala, was arrested for a crime he did not commit alongside people he did not know. It was his birthday. Just prior to his arrest, United States customs agents accompanied by the local Atlanta Police and the FBI, raided his home. They told Okpala’s wife at the time that they were looking for “illegal aliens” when in actuality, they were looking for evidence and avidly seeking informants to pin Okpala to a heroin smuggling that had taken place in South Carolina one year prior.
Given no choice but to wear his federal jail jumper to his jury selection, no jury of his peers, and no acknowledgment of the agents’ fabricated evidence during his trial, he was allegedly convicted though the document containing the verdict remained unsigned by the jury foreperson.
Garry Okpala spent the next 22 years of his life behind bars. While incarcerated, Okpala made many efforts to get any of the numerous injustices and hindrances (both preceding and following his wrongful conviction) appealed. But the same judge who had sentenced him to 30 years in prison dismissed his arguments on the account that his complaints had exceeded a non-existent 25-page limit.
By December of 1993, Okpala’s naturalization had been revoked and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began deportation proceedings in January 1994 on the grounds that he was “removable as an alien”. Though immigration had put these proceedings on hold for the duration of his incarceration, the DHS resurfaced them two decades later. Okpala of course filed a motion stating that as a U.S. citizen, his 1993 convictions did not justify his deportation and that all associated proceedings were rendered invalid and unjustifiable. In 2016 his motions were denied. He filed another motion that year challenging the 1993 convictions and the notion that he was not a U.S citizen. By this point, it should not surprise you to hear that his motion was again denied. After serving a 22-year sentence, Okpala was immediately arrested by ICE agents on November 2nd, 2015. From there he spent two years in detention and on August 29th, 2017 was illegally deported to Nigeria.
After coming to the U.S from Nigeria in 1982; after being naturalized in 1992 through his marriage to a U.S citizen; after having and raising his daughter Victoria; after having attended three universities and law school in the United States; after being convicted of a crime he did not commit; after his every effort to expose the slimy underbelly of a system intentionally created with loopholes and illegal caveats; Garry Okpala had been denied and deported. This appalled and angered me.
When I learned that in 2018 the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals had revoked his deportation orders because he was a citizen at the time of his conviction, I was relieved thinking, finally! All we needed was someone to acknowledge the facts stated clearly in writing and proceed in truth. Even more, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) Falls Church in Virginia had reviewed Okpala’s case, and in agreement, dismissed his deportation charge. I thought to myself, the Immigration Court had overturned their decision, this is more than enough evidence and justification to reverse the deportation and return his naturalization. But no action has been taken to bring Garry Okpala back home to the United States since. In other words what we have here is a legal U.S. citizen still in Nigeria who is barred from returning because responsible parties of the U.S government refuse to return his citizenship or make any efforts to bring him back to the U.S. despite formally acknowledging the falsity and inadequacy of their initial rulings.
These are the court officials we have identified who not only failed Okpala, but failed to uphold the standards of justice, honor, and respect in their respective positions:
Sharing Okpala's story only to point a finger would diminish the gravity of intentional insults made to his humanity and dignity. His story goes far beyond blame and unfortunately, there are many more stories like his. We need action and, as students of the Remedy Project, we will not be satisfied until Okpala is brought back and given what is owed to him. When I learned about how Okpala was threatened and interrogated after first being arrested in South Carolina, now about 30 years ago, an eerie sensation of déjà vu came over me. In a number of ways the SC agents’ tacky and desperate attempts to first pin Okpala with a crime and then recruit him to join their twisted efforts reminded me of another heartbreaking and gut-wrenching story. A story of five innocent boys who were coerced into admitting they were responsible for a heinous crime that took place in New York City’s Central Park only four years prior to Okpala's original questioning.
"If you don't help us, we are going to make you wake up every day and see what we are going to cause in your life. We have the power to do what we want to do...”
This was how the agents responded when Okpala refused to be intimidated. Though they tried to break him down, questioning him for hours, he stood firm on the truth. I wish the same could have been said for the agents. If I wrote about each and every one of Okey Garry Okpala’s experiences with law enforcement, prison, and court officials, it would not only overwhelm and sadden you like it did me, it could cause us to focus too much on the wrongs and not enough on action. The wrongs must be made known, but something must be done to fix them. His voice has been repeatedly stifled by those who swore to protect and serve, by those who swore to uphold the law and constitution. We cannot allow this to continue any longer.
Was over two decades of his life behind bars not enough? Must Okpala be made to suffer more? More than pointing a finger, I am holding up Gary Okpala’s story as a mirror to evil. I hope that doing this will give the cruelty of the prison system and the federal government faces and names. We as writers and readers of this story clearly see that the scales of justice are far from balanced for Okpala. Justice should not only be awarded to whom our governing bodies see fit. It is a rightful possession of citizens but should be given simply because Okpala is a human being. He is a father, friend, and fearless advocate for not only himself but many others around him. He has proven himself time and time again to be a legal genius, knowing the law inside and out and knowing when those who are supposed to carry it out fall short and attempt to hide it.
A man’s hope to build a new and respectable life for himself in our country was fraught with numerous injustices and unnecessary hardships. That image should be appalling, enough to move responsible parties to act. It is shameful that stating their mistakes in a court of law and dismissing Okpala's deportation was not enough. A single person or even a few vocal people are not enough to bring a story like this to light. This story must create a public uproar for the powers that be to move. They must all be made to reckon with, address, and rectify every harm they either purposefully imposed on Okpala or permitted in negligence. We will not stop until that much is done.
Please sign our petition here. You can also sign our petition on change.org: https://chng.it/Nyy965RW87.
On March 3rd 1993, Okechukwu Oguejifor Okpala, also known as Okey Garry Okpala, was arrested for a crime he did not commit alongside people he did not know. It was his birthday. Just prior to his arrest, United States customs agents accompanied by the local Atlanta Police and the FBI, raided his home. They told Okpala’s wife at the time that they were looking for “illegal aliens” when in actuality, they were looking for evidence and avidly seeking informants to pin Okpala to a heroin smuggling that had taken place in South Carolina one year prior.
Given no choice but to wear his federal jail jumper to his jury selection, no jury of his peers, and no acknowledgment of the agents’ fabricated evidence during his trial, he was allegedly convicted though the document containing the verdict remained unsigned by the jury foreperson.
Garry Okpala spent the next 22 years of his life behind bars. While incarcerated, Okpala made many efforts to get any of the numerous injustices and hindrances (both preceding and following his wrongful conviction) appealed. But the same judge who had sentenced him to 30 years in prison dismissed his arguments on the account that his complaints had exceeded a non-existent 25-page limit.
By December of 1993, Okpala’s naturalization had been revoked and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began deportation proceedings in January 1994 on the grounds that he was “removable as an alien”. Though immigration had put these proceedings on hold for the duration of his incarceration, the DHS resurfaced them two decades later. Okpala of course filed a motion stating that as a U.S. citizen, his 1993 convictions did not justify his deportation and that all associated proceedings were rendered invalid and unjustifiable. In 2016 his motions were denied. He filed another motion that year challenging the 1993 convictions and the notion that he was not a U.S citizen. By this point, it should not surprise you to hear that his motion was again denied. After serving a 22-year sentence, Okpala was immediately arrested by ICE agents on November 2nd, 2015. From there he spent two years in detention and on August 29th, 2017 was illegally deported to Nigeria.
After coming to the U.S from Nigeria in 1982; after being naturalized in 1992 through his marriage to a U.S citizen; after having and raising his daughter Victoria; after having attended three universities and law school in the United States; after being convicted of a crime he did not commit; after his every effort to expose the slimy underbelly of a system intentionally created with loopholes and illegal caveats; Garry Okpala had been denied and deported. This appalled and angered me.
When I learned that in 2018 the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals had revoked his deportation orders because he was a citizen at the time of his conviction, I was relieved thinking, finally! All we needed was someone to acknowledge the facts stated clearly in writing and proceed in truth. Even more, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) Falls Church in Virginia had reviewed Okpala’s case, and in agreement, dismissed his deportation charge. I thought to myself, the Immigration Court had overturned their decision, this is more than enough evidence and justification to reverse the deportation and return his naturalization. But no action has been taken to bring Garry Okpala back home to the United States since. In other words what we have here is a legal U.S. citizen still in Nigeria who is barred from returning because responsible parties of the U.S government refuse to return his citizenship or make any efforts to bring him back to the U.S. despite formally acknowledging the falsity and inadequacy of their initial rulings.
These are the court officials we have identified who not only failed Okpala, but failed to uphold the standards of justice, honor, and respect in their respective positions:
Sharing Okpala's story only to point a finger would diminish the gravity of intentional insults made to his humanity and dignity. His story goes far beyond blame and unfortunately, there are many more stories like his. We need action and, as students of the Remedy Project, we will not be satisfied until Okpala is brought back and given what is owed to him. When I learned about how Okpala was threatened and interrogated after first being arrested in South Carolina, now about 30 years ago, an eerie sensation of déjà vu came over me. In a number of ways the SC agents’ tacky and desperate attempts to first pin Okpala with a crime and then recruit him to join their twisted efforts reminded me of another heartbreaking and gut-wrenching story. A story of five innocent boys who were coerced into admitting they were responsible for a heinous crime that took place in New York City’s Central Park only four years prior to Okpala's original questioning.
"If you don't help us, we are going to make you wake up every day and see what we are going to cause in your life. We have the power to do what we want to do...”
This was how the agents responded when Okpala refused to be intimidated. Though they tried to break him down, questioning him for hours, he stood firm on the truth. I wish the same could have been said for the agents. If I wrote about each and every one of Okey Garry Okpala’s experiences with law enforcement, prison, and court officials, it would not only overwhelm and sadden you like it did me, it could cause us to focus too much on the wrongs and not enough on action. The wrongs must be made known, but something must be done to fix them. His voice has been repeatedly stifled by those who swore to protect and serve, by those who swore to uphold the law and constitution. We cannot allow this to continue any longer.
Was over two decades of his life behind bars not enough? Must Okpala be made to suffer more? More than pointing a finger, I am holding up Gary Okpala’s story as a mirror to evil. I hope that doing this will give the cruelty of the prison system and the federal government faces and names. We as writers and readers of this story clearly see that the scales of justice are far from balanced for Okpala. Justice should not only be awarded to whom our governing bodies see fit. It is a rightful possession of citizens but should be given simply because Okpala is a human being. He is a father, friend, and fearless advocate for not only himself but many others around him. He has proven himself time and time again to be a legal genius, knowing the law inside and out and knowing when those who are supposed to carry it out fall short and attempt to hide it.
A man’s hope to build a new and respectable life for himself in our country was fraught with numerous injustices and unnecessary hardships. That image should be appalling, enough to move responsible parties to act. It is shameful that stating their mistakes in a court of law and dismissing Okpala's deportation was not enough. A single person or even a few vocal people are not enough to bring a story like this to light. This story must create a public uproar for the powers that be to move. They must all be made to reckon with, address, and rectify every harm they either purposefully imposed on Okpala or permitted in negligence. We will not stop until that much is done.
Please sign our petition here. You can also sign our petition on change.org: https://chng.it/Nyy965RW87.
