Alika Ogorchukwu: How Nigerian Vendor Who Fled To Italy For Greener Pasture Was Beaten To Death
On Friday, July 29, 2022, a video went viral first on the Italian social media space before it spread to the rest of the world. The video captured the gruesome beating and strangulation of a Nigerian street vendor, Alika Ogorchukwu, by an Italian man. For four-minute, Ogorchukwu struggled for his life, but the attacker, 32-year-old Filippo Ferlazzo, squeezed his neck until he died. Ferlazzo then took the deceased’s phone and fled.
The incident, which happened in the main central street of Civitanova Marche, in the eastern coastal town of Civitanova Marche, in Italy, has caused outrage among the African community and sparked debate about racial-motivated attacks against Nigerians in the country.
“It was a racist attack,” Dr Amanze Daniel, the Chairman of ACSIM association for immigrants, told Neusroom. “Ogorchukwu had merely commended the female companion of Ferlazzo when the latter became infuriated and beat him with his crutches before killing him.”
According to the police, Ferlazzo was arrested hours later, still in possession of Ogorchukwu’s mobile phone.
From Nigeria to Italy in search of greener pastures
Italy, for a very long time, has been the corridor into Europe for a lot of African migrants, regular or otherwise. In July 2022, about 1,000 migrants crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Italy on a single day. While the majority of the migrants come from Sudan and Libya who were fleeing their countries due to political unrest, there are a few from West Africa who are considered economic migrants. Ogorchukwu belonged to the second category.
He left Nigeria for Italy in 2013 with his wife, Charity Oriachi. The following year, they had a son.
“I know him, and I know his family”, Daniel told Neusroom. “He used to come to my office where I provide legal advice to people like him.”
Ogorchukwu, who had a resident permit that allowed him to live in Italy, worked as a labourer. A car ran over him when he was riding his bicycle in 2021, which left him with a limp that required him to walk with crutches. The accident also meant he could not continue work as a labourer, so he became a vendor selling goods on the street.
“The nature of street vendors is that they have to try to convince people to buy by being nice and friendly to them”, Daniel said. “They commend people for their dressing, for their beauty, anything to earn a few euros. That was what Ogorchukwu did to Ferlazzo’s female companion that got him killed.”
Racially-motivated attack or mental illness?
Ogorchukwu’s brutal killing reignited discussion about race in Italy. On February 3, 2018, Luca Traini draped himself in the Italian flag before going on a shooting rampage against immigrants in Macerata, a city 20 miles away from where Ogorchukwu was killed. Six people were injured in the drive-by shooting, and it sparked protests against the rise of fascism in Italy.
Matteo Luconi, a Macerata police officer, told CNN that the killing “was not racially motivated”. Ferlazzo’a lawyers too agree, saying the attack was due to his psychiatric issues and had nothing to do with race.
Daniel, however, disagrees, saying the attack belongs to a long list of attacks directed at African migrants, which he said has continued to escalate. He said his association has repeatedly warned the government about the rise of racism against Africans in Italy, but the authorities have always denied it.
“People watched as the young man was strangled to death, and instead of doing something to stop it, they preferred to record it with their phones for the aim of likes. There was no rescue or assistance. The public left the young man to die. It is a terrible situation, and we are living in fear. It is racism.”
Daniel argues that if the assailant had psychiatric issues, why was he allowed to roam the street?
“With my experience, I believe that the attack was caused by racism. He left where he was living to commit this crime against a black person. People say he would still have attacked even if the person was white, but that’s not true. Why did he single a black person and strangle him? It is terrible.”
In 2015, Emmanuel Chidi Nnamdi left Nigeria with his wife after his family was attacked by Boko Haram terrorists and moved to Italy. Eight months after he got to Italy, he was beaten to death by one Amedeo Mancini in the town of Fermo after he stepped in to defend his wife who was being racially abused.
Rita Amenze, a Nigerian lady moved to Italy in 2017 via Libya and a year later, got married to an Italian, Pierangelo Pellizzar. Two years into the marriage, she filed for divorce and in that period travelled to Nigeria to see her parents. Two weeks after her return to Italy, she was shot to death by her embittered husband in front of her workplace.
A few days after Ogorchukwu’s death, a Nigerian worker, Beauty David, who lives in Italy posted a video on Youtube showing her boss beating and slapping her after she refused to work due to being underpaid.
Daniel says the attacks have put the Nigerian community in Itay in fear and doesn’t believe that the Italian government is doing enough to racially-motivated attacks.
Third class citizen
Dr Daniel believes that his experience as a lawyer who is also an expert on migration law providing important information to Africans in Italy has exposed him to the different problems Africans encounter in the European country. He believes that the rise of right-wing politics has put Africans in Italy at a disadvantage as the ultra-nationalists have continued to treat Africans as third-class citizens.
“I have lived here for 40 years, and I am still not treated like a citizen. I fear for my sons and daughters. When they go out with their friends, I am in fear until they come back home. If I buy an expensive car today, the ministry of finance will investigate me.
“Many of the migrants coming to Italy now do not stay long. If they have the opportunity to get their documents, they leave to other European countries that treat them better.”
Dr Daniel says the law does not protect Africans in Italy and that politicians from the left wing do not have the courage to speak against it.
“We have an election in September, and politicians are afraid to speak up against injustice. Immigrants are considered criminals and thus are not protected. They don’t want to lose their political base.”
He believes that blacks do not enjoy the same rights as whites in Italy as they are discriminated against in all aspects of society. He said menial jobs are reserved for blacks while educated ones find it difficult to get jobs in the white-collar industry, thereby making them economically disadvantaged.
In June 2022, Spanish guards were caught on video beating migrants with sticks at the Melilla border which is located in the Spain-controlled part of North Africa.
Lack of faith in the justice system
The mayor of Civitanova Marche announced that the municipality, Mantella, will cover the financial expenses for Ogorchukwu’s funeral and that a fundraiser has been started to help his widow and their 8-year-old son. Despite this, Daniel is not convinced that the justice system will do its work. He said it’s almost impossible for Africans to work in the public sector in Italy. The more it continues, the more they would continue to be at a disadvantage which he believes fuels racially-targetted attacks.
Daniel believes that the Italian government is complicit in this situation, saying when the Nigerian community sought approval for a protest which ultimately took place on Saturday, August 6, the government only granted it on the condition that racism would not be mentioned as the reason behind attacks against Nigerians.
Although he has little hope in the justice system, the lawyer and immigration expert is unrelenting in his drive to continue to work in the interest of Nigerians and Africans in Italy in raising their status and erasing the third-class tag stamped on them.
The Nigerian Embassy in Italy condemned the killing in a statement and called on the Italian government to bring the perpetrator to book.
“His Excellency, Ambassador Mfawa Omini Abam has condemned the gruesome murder and has commiserated with Mrs. Charity Oriachi, wife of the deceased, and the rest of his family.
“His Excellency has directed the provision of immediate consular assistance as appropriate. The Embassy is currently collaborating with relevant Italian authorities to ensure justice is served and to provide succour to the family of the deceased.”
