Nigerian sprinter pleads guilty to firearm possession in US, risks 15-year jail term

Godson Brume, the Nigerian sprinter, has pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in the US while under a non-immigrant visa.

According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Brume admitted the offence to Shelly Dick, a judge, during a hearing at a federal court on December 3.

It is illegal for an immigrant with a temporary visa to possess a firearm in the US, except in a few cases.

Oghenebrume’s confession may attract up to 15 years’ imprisonment. He also faces a $250,000 fine and up to 3 years of supervised release.

He may also be deported from the US upon completing his sentence.

Brume, an athlete under the non-immigrant F-1 student visa in the US, confessed to being in possession and discharging a Glock model 43X, 9mm pistol during an altercation with an ex-girlfriend at his apartment in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on February 7, 2025.

“Based on the complaint that proceeded the indictment, on the night of February 7, 2025, Oghenebrume was in his apartment when an ex-girlfriend, who is also the mother of his infant child, arrived at the apartment with the baby,” the DOJ statement reads.

“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.

“Oghenebrume went back into his apartment. However, sometime thereafter, Oghenebrume’s ex-girlfriend opened his apartment door, observed Oghenebrume and the other young woman in the living room, and she and Oghenebrume began to argue. 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.”

Brume is the younger brother of Ese Brume, the decorated long jumper. He gained an athletics scholarship to study and train in the US in 2022.

He won silver for Nigeria in the men’s 4×100 meters relay at the 2024 African Athletics Championships in Cameroon.

Brume is the fourth-fastest Nigerian 100-meter sprinter with a personal best of 9.90 seconds.