The Police have swiftly apprehended a 32-year-old Italian man identified as Fillippo Claudio Gluseppe Ferlazzo, on suspicion of murder.
Following the gruesome killing, dozens of migrants including some Senegambians joined protestors at Civitanove Marche demanding “justice and protection”.
The area is a popular commune for West Africans in the Province of Macerata, 40 kilometres southeast of Ancona.
The victim, identified as 39-year-old Alika Ogorchukwu, was a married father of two and known to the community as “a hardworking guy.” The former labourer was using crutches to walk following a car accident.
Gambian migrant, Mam Matty Secka, who witnessed the protest in responding to The Point said: “All we demanded was justice… so that someone else won’t do it again…It was peaceful demonstration despite the commotion”.
Demonstrators protested that the accused person used the victim’s crutches to kill him while people "calmly" walked across the streets.
Laye Diop, a Senegalese trader and member of a “solidarity movement” noted that it was “not the first time for such a brazen behaviour”.
Diop recalled that few years ago, a gunman had opened fire in the southern Italian city of Florence, killing two Senegalese immigrants.
The perpetrator was described a “member of a far-right group”.
Similarly, it is vital to note that Emmanuel Chidi Namdi, another Nigerian refugee was also killed in the Italian town of Fermo.
Namdi and his wife arrived in Italy via Libya when both of their parents were reportedly killed by Boko Haram. They travelled through the Mediterranean Sea.
However, this time round, the killing of Alika was so brash that Matteo Salvini, the country’s Right-wing leader, publicly expressed horror over his death.
Salvini's anti-immigrant League Party that implemented most the harsh rules against the migrants while he was Interior Minister changed tone and said: “Security has no colour… needs to return to being a right”.
Several prominent politicians also demanded swift justice noting “there cannot be a defence or justification” over the ruthless murder of Alika.
Meanwhile, the Council of Ministers have unanimously adopted a decree that “back-pedalled and reversed many of the vilest policies” imposed by Salvini.
Human Rights Watch hailed the decree but added that though “isn’t perfect…but it’s a step in the right direction.”
