Serial Yahoo Boy and ex-convict Invictus Obi Okeke, who was deported from the U.S. after serving a six-year jail term, has returned to Nigeria’s social circles, strategically mingling with the who’s who ahead of his plans to run for political office.
Mr Okeke was decked in a black tuxedo at the 40th birthday bash of Francis Udochukwu Nwaogwugu, an entrepreneur and real estate developer who is also known as Vintage. Mr Okeke waltzed the event’s black carpet with a bow tie and fancy see-through glasses. The birthday bash was on Saturday.
A close associate of Mr Okeke told the Peoples Gazette his plans for political office would soon be made public.
It was unclear if his plans would involve seeking elective office from his traditional South-East region or lobbying for a political appointment at the federal level under President Bola Tinubu, who carries longstanding baggage as a former narcotics dealer in the U.S.
Still, Mr Okeke’s ambition to contest might hit a snag because Nigerian law bars individuals with convictions and sentences under 10 years from running for office.
Given that the FBI arrested Mr Okeke in 2019 at the Dulles International Airport in Virginia, where he had booked a flight to flee to Nigeria, he fell short of the mark and was ineligible to run.
Several sections of the Constitution forbid ex-felons with less than 10-year convictions from contesting the presidential, governorship, Senate, House of Reps and state parliamentary elections.
For instance, Section 182 (1) (e) of the CFRN states that “No person shall be qualified for election to the office of Governor of a State if -within a period of less than ten years before the date of election to the office of Governor of a State he has been convicted and sentenced for an offence involving dishonesty or he has been found guilty of the contravention of the code of Conduct.”
Similar sections are repeated across other elective positions in the Nigerian 1990 constitution.
He was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit computer fraud after he stole the login credentials of Unatrac Holding Limited, a company that exports Caterpillar industrial machinery, and intercepted emails to divert payments. He stole approximately $11 million.
Investigations by the FBI revealed that Mr Okeke masterminded a computer hacking scheme, compromising emails to rob unsuspecting victims of millions of dollars between 2015 and 2019.
“Through subterfuge and impersonation, Obinwanne Okeke engaged in a multi-year global business email and computer hacking scheme that caused a staggering $11 million in losses to his victims,” a statement by Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, stated in 2021.
He was tried and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment in February 2021 but released in December 2025, seemingly benefitting from the first-step prison reform policy that President Donald Trump signed into law in his first term.
A lawyer and publicist for Mr Okeke did not immediately return a request seeking comments about his client’s plans.