The latest victim, Mr. Emmanuel
Chidi Nnamdi, 36, was stabbed after he allegedly tried to defend his wife,
Chinyery, from an apparently racist attack by a Right-wing football fan in
Fermo, Marche, Italy.
The incident occurred while the
couple was walking through the town of Fermo on Tuesday.
Nnamdi and Chinyery were said to
have been abused by the supporter of a local football club, according to online
news portal, Agi News Agency.
Nnamdi and his wife fled Nigeria to
Italy in 2015 after surviving an attack on a church by the outlawed Boko Haram
sect, where members of their families, were killed.
The football fan was said to have
called Chinyery, 24, ‘a monkey.’ Nnamdi had immediately responded to the slur.
He was pounced upon and beaten to a state of coma. He died on Wednesday. The Italian Police, on Thursday, announced
that a local man, Amedeo Mancini, 38, had been arrested in connection with Nnamdi’s
murder.
While condemning Nnamdi’s murder on
Thursday, through his twitter handle @matteorenzi, Italian Prime Minister, Mr.
Matteo Renzi, said the government stood with the town in memory of Nnamdi, and
is “against hatred, racism and violence.”
The town’s mayor, Paolo Calcinaro,
said: “Immigration has been a divisive issue in Fermo. Local churches which
have made a point of welcoming migrants have been the target of four bomb
attacks in recent months. While they caused little damage and no injuries,
tension remains high in the community of 40,000. As mayor of a town that is welcoming and open
to integration, I feel I’m living in a nightmare.”
The Italian Interior Ministry, said
a total of 70,930 people landed in the country between January and June, almost
the same number as in 2015 and only slightly higher than in 2014, due to the influx of hundreds of migrants who
arrive the country on daily basis.
The full-year total of migrant
arrivals for 2015 was put at 153,000.
It was gathered that Nnamdi and his
wife arrived in Fermo last September and were being supported by the Catholic
Church.
The couple travelled to Italy,
across the Mediterranean and was trying to put their troubled past behind. The
wife lost her pregnancy after the Mediterranean crossing.
A local priest, Father Vinicio Albanesi,
who knew the couple very well, said: “Emmanuel was always smiling, full of
enthusiasm and had plans for the future. He was dreaming of a job, a house and
above all, a visa to remain in Italy.”
Albanesi said Nnamdi’s death rang
alarm bells about the extent of xenophobia and racism, adding that the
community would continue to promote integration in Fermo.
The head of the Anti-Immigrant
Northern League, Matteo Salvini, condemned Nnamdi’s murder on his Facebook
page, but also said it was a sign that illegal immigration was “out of control”
in Italy.
He added: “It is increasingly
evident that illegal immigration is out of control, actually (it’s an)
organised invasion, and will produce nothing good. Controls, limits, respect,
rules, and definite penalties; are we asking too much?”
Meanwhile, two teenagers have been
arrested by the London Police in connection with Orebiyi’s death. Orebiyi was
stabbed in a street close to Westbourne Grove, just yards from the Portobello
Arts Club.
The 17-year-old was involved in a
fight on a nearby estate with a gang of youths. The youths chased him into the
busy road, where they attacked him. They left him to bleed to death.
Orebiyi, who completed his General
Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), at Holland Park in London, was
studying for his A-levels at the Chelsea Academy before his death.
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