Filippo Ferlazzo, the Italian individual responsible for the tragic killing of Alika Ogorchukwu, a Nigerian man residing in Italy, in July 2022, has been sentenced to 24 years behind bars.
The announcement of Ferlazzo’s sentencing was made by Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the Chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), in a statement released on Thursday.
Dabiri-Erewa, in a statement issued through NiDCOM spokesperson Gabriel Odu, expressed her appreciation for the Nigerian Mission in Rome for their diligent pursuit of justice in this case and others involving Nigerian citizens.
She stated, “I am relieved that this case has finally seen justice served. As I consistently emphasize, actions must have consequences.”
On the fateful day of July 29, 2022, Alika Ogorchukwu was brutally assaulted in broad daylight while he was engaged in street vending. The attacker used Ogorchukwu’s own crutches to beat him to death, in full view of numerous bystanders who tragically did not intervene. Some of these onlookers, however, recorded the horrific incident on their mobile phones.
The following day, July 30, 2022, Filippo Ferlazzo was apprehended and charged with the murder of Ogorchukwu, along with the theft of Ogorchukwu’s phone. Italian law enforcement authorities asserted that Ferlazzo had attacked Ogorchukwu after an altercation involving Ferlazzo’s girlfriend, who had been asked by Ogorchukwu to purchase a handkerchief.
This tragic incident occurred at 2 p.m. on a Friday on the main central street of Civitanova Marche, Italy, and Ogorchukwu was discovered lifeless at the scene, with paramedics arriving too late to save him.