By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
At last, justice has prevailed as a 33-year-old Italian, Filippo Ferlazzo, who beat a physically challenged Nigerian Alika Ogorchukwu to death in Italy has bagged 24 years imprisonment.
According to reports, the court of Assizes of Macerata handed down the sentence last Wednesday for the aggravated voluntary murder of the 39-year-old Nigerian street hawker, who had physical disabilities.
Ogorchukwu was brutally attacked by the convict on July 29, 2022, while he was selling goods on the streets of Civitanova Marche in the Province of Macerata, March Region of Italy.
The attacker, Filippo Ferlazzo had used the victim’s own crutches to beat him to death, crushing his neck and head, all of this in front of bystanders who did not intervene, while some onlookers recorded videos of the attack with their phones.
However Filippo Ferlazzo was arrested on July 30, 2022, on murder charges and according to the Italian Police, they believed the attack occurred after Ogorchukwu had asked Ferlazzo’s girlfriend to buy a handkerchief.
According to reports from africanewseye.com, the incident led to two protest marches in a coastal town in Italy, demanding justice for the Nigerian victim, whose death made international headlines.
Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), expressed satisfaction with the justice served in Filippo Ferlazzo’s case.
In a statement issued by NiDCOM spokesperson Gabriel Odu on Thursday, she commended the Nigerian Mission in Rome for its efforts in handling cases involving Nigerians.
Dabiri-Erewa encouraged Nigerians in the Diaspora to remain law-abiding, excel in their endeavours, and contribute to their homeland.