(The Center Square) - The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case on whether a Nigerian national who cooked meals for a terrorist organization applies as "material" support for terrorism.Â
Justices on the high court agreed to hear Blanche v. Ozurumba, a case focused on Nigerian national Izuchukwu Ozurumba, who cooked meals for six months at a remote camp serving Nigerian separatist group "Unknown Gunmen."Â
In 2022, Ozurumba started work as a cook with "Unknown Gunmen." He prepared three meals a day for 15 to 17 bosses at the camp, according to court documents.Â
He cooked for the group's leaders for six months, three without pay after group members confronted him for not supporting the group's goals. Eventually, Ozurumba escaped from the camp while on a grocery run and moved to Venezuela.Â
In July 2023, Ozurumba entered the United States illegally. He sought asylum in the country, claiming he was threatened by members of the "Unknown Gunmen."
However, an immigration judge found that cooking meals for leadership of the organization constituted "material support" for terrorism. He was removed to Nigeria in April 2025.Â
"Even if 'actions such as cooking may be relatively minimal,' performing such actions for a terrorist group 'frees up resources for the group to accomplish its goals,'" lawyers for the government wrote in a brief to the high court.Â
Lawyers for Ozurumba said the government's reading of the word "material" is too broad. The lawyers argued that Ozurumba's cooking could not be credibly linked to conducting terrorist activities associated with the Unknown Gunmen.Â
"Mr. Ozurumba’s compelled cooking with food and equipment provided to him did not constitute 'material' support under the [Immigration and Nationality Act]," lawyers for Ozurumba wrote. "The government’s contrary reading would strip 'material' of meaning, extend the inadmissibility bar beyond any principled limit, and render the statute’s careful distinctions surplusage."
Justices on the high court will likely hear arguments to define the meaning of "material" support for terrorism in early 2027. The high court is expected to release a decision by July 2027.Â
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Originally published on thecentersquare.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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