Protest Marches In Italy To Demand Justice For Nigerian Man Beaten To Death

Protest Marches In Italy To Demand Justice For Nigerian Man Beaten To Death

 

Protest Marches In Italy To Demand Justice For Nigerian Man Beaten To Death. 

Protest Marches In Italy To Demand Justice For Nigerian Man Beaten To Death

Two demonstrations were held in a town on Italy’s Adriatic coast on Saturday, August 6, to demand justice for Nigerian street vendor, Alika Ogorchukwu, who was beaten to death by a man in an attack that attracted global headlines.

Ogorchukwu was killed by Filippo Ferlazzo on the streets of Civitanova Marche city located in the Province of Macerata, Marche Region of Italy after he allegedly complimented Ferlazzo’s partner’s beauty.

Organizers of one of the marches in Civitanova Marche, by Nigerians living in Macerata province, said they did not want the search for justice to be clouded by accusations of racism that they feel cannot be proven.

That demonstration was led by the victim Ogorchukwu’s widow, Charity Oriakhi, and two of his brothers.

The second march, along the same route an hour later, was led by black Italians from all over Italy who demanded that the authorities do a U-turn and recognize the role they believe race played in the July 29 killing.

Filippo Ferlazzo is known to have psychiatric problems and investigators seem to have ruled out a racially motivated murder.

The 32-year-old is said to have attacked Alika Ogorchukwu following an altercation. According to police, Ferlazzo first struck the street vendor after pursuing the Nigerian 200 meters down a shopping street lined with high-end boutiques.

The attacker strangled the victim in full view of several people who filmed the event. Ferlazzo remains in prison because he is considered to be dangerous.

Civitanova Marche’s inhabitants have largely accepted the official version of events, attributing the Nigerian man’s death to an insistent street seller unfortunately clashing with a man who has a court-documented history of mental illness.

Some campaign groups are seeking to register a civil claim in the case because they believe the attack was racially motivated. But the victim’s widow has not backed this accusation, saying she had never experienced racism before the tragic attack.

Charity Oriakhi told AP that she and her husband had always felt welcome in Italy and that he never recounted negative interactions when he was out selling. In fact, she said, he often came home with gifts from Italians for the couple’s eight-year-old son.

The pair met in Tuscany about a decade ago, shortly after Ogorchukwu’s arrival in Italy, and later resettled in the Marche region.

READ ALSO: Nigerian Man Deported to Italy for Molesting a Horse, Has Been Arrested for Murder

There are fears that the case will loom large in the approaching election campaign in Italy and could further poison it. City officials have expressed concerns that the killing was being politicized ahead of the early vote to choose a new parliament on September 25.

The marches were relatively small, but the international impact of the killing has brought the issue of racism back to center stage.

It also brings into focus the very different positions between the center-right and center-left camps on the issue of immigration.

“The word racism cannot be minimized because it exists,” said Daniel Amanze, who arrived in Italy from Nigeria as a student 40 years ago.

He said he saw racism becoming more “obvious” in recent years as some politicians scapegoat immigrants to cover “for their poor administration

Source | LIB


About Author
Admin
Get Local and International News, Entertainment, Scholarships, and other updates daily from Nigeria and around the world.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*