By Mixed reactions have trailed the brutal killing of a Nigerian street vendor, Alika Ogorchukwu, in Civitanova Marche City in the Province of Macerata, Marche Region of Italy.
According to Italian authorities, the 39-year-old was beaten to death on Friday by one Fillipo Ferlazzo.
A video footage, showing how Ferlazzo strangled the physically-challenged Ogorchukwu to death, has gone viral on social media, drawing condemnation from politicians and citizens.
Though accounts of what actually transpired vary on different reports, it was said that the Nigerian unsuccessfully pitched his wares to Ferlazzo and his girlfriend.
Witnesses filmed the attack, which happened on a major shopping street and lasted less than four minutes, but no one intervened.
“The attacker chased the victim and first attacked him with a crutch, then knocked him to the ground and finished him off, killing him by repeatedly striking him with his bare hands. It is a murder determined by futile motives. What emerges from the investigation is that the victim was particularly persistent in begging money from the attacker and his partner,” the police said in a statement.
The police have arrested Ferlazzo, based on the camera footage. The accused was apprehended on Saturday on suspicion of murder and theft of the victim’s phone.
The brutal killing which appears to be racially motivated has sparked outrage as hundreds of people from the local Nigerian community took to the streets of Civitanova Marche, in Marche region, on Saturday, to demand justice.
The Nigerian Embassy in Italy had also condemned the incident, saying it is currently collaborating with relevant Italian authorities to ensure justice is served and to provide succour to the family of the deceased.
