Background
Peter Nta, a Nigerian citizen and lawful permanent resident, was convicted in 2017 of possessing fraudulent immigration documents. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one day in custody with one year of supervised release, followed by a judicial order of removal to Nigeria. In November 2024, Nta filed a pro se petition seeking to vacate his conviction and expunge his records, alleging fundamental constitutional violations.
The court’s reasoning
The court determined that the district court had jurisdiction to consider the petition as a challenge to the conviction under the writ of coram nobis. However, the court affirmed the denial because Nta failed to exercise reasonable diligence. Nta filed the petition six years after his supervised release ended, and his explanations regarding detention and Freedom of Information Act requests were insufficient to justify the delay. Additionally, the court noted that Nta missed the thirty-day statutory deadline to challenge his removal order.
What it means going forward
The decision reinforces that collateral attacks on criminal convictions via coram nobis require prompt action, and failure to file within a reasonable time after completing a sentence will result in denial of relief.