The wife of a Nigerian street trader who was killed in Italy has told the BBC she is seeking justice following his “painful death”.
Aliku Ogorchukwu, 39, was reportedly attempting to sell handkerchiefs in Civitanova Marche on Friday last week when he was pursued and killed.
An Italian man, 32, has been detained on suspicion of homicide and robbery.
Online videos show a man standing on top of Ogorchukwu and pounding him with just his hands.
Nobody who saw the incident in broad daylight seemed to step in to stop it.
“This is a form of wickedness I don’t know,” Ogorchukwu’s wife, Charity Oriachi, told the BBC’s Focus on Africa.
Despite receiving assistance in coping with her husband’s passing, Ms. Oriachi claimed she had become tired of just “talk.” Now, she said, she was simply concerned with justice.
The wife emphasised that her husband had never sought any trouble and that her family had lived in Italy for a very long time.
Nigerians in the area, who also felt outraged by the tragedy, took to the streets over the weekend and are preparing for another protest shortly.
The Nigerian government has requested that the Italian authorities “bring the culprit of the terrible act” to justice” as soon as possible.
Filippo Claudio Giuseppe Ferlazzo, a white male, is the suspect; he has been ordered to remain in custody while the investigation is conducted.
His defence attorney told the media that the suspect had expressed regret and that “no racial aspect” was there.
According to a police investigator, Ogorchukwu was attacked as a result of the trader’s “insistent” requests for spare change from the defendant and his accomplice.
Ogorchukwu stroked the partner’s arm, but it did not affect her, the partner, who went by Elena D, told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
According to the family’s attorney, Ms. Oriachi now wants to meet the culprit “face to face” to learn why he killed her husband.
