Nigerian migrant killed in Italy laid to rest as suspect defends his use of the term “African monkey”

Nigerian refugee seeker Emmanuel Chidi Nnamdi was laid to rest on
Sunday, July 10, in a funeral service attended by hundreds of mourners.
His widow, Chinyere, dressed entirely in white, fainted twice during the
ceremony and had to be carried out of the Fermo cathedral. Nigerian
friends also rushed to support her after she collapsed near
his rose-topped coffin.

“He came to live in peace, he found death”, read one of the many
messages left with flowers for Emmanuel. 

The
36-year-old was killed by a right-wing football fan in a racist attack.
The suspect Amedeo Mancini punched Emmanuel during a fight in the town on Tuesday
which broke out after
Mancini called his wife Chinyere an “African monkey”. Nnamdi and
Chinyere had fled Nigeria last year after an attack on a church
by Boko Haram in which their two-year-old
son and other members of their families were killed.

Mancini, 39, who was arrested, admitted to police that he had insulted
the woman, but said he believed the pair had been about to steal a car,
and only assaulted Nnamdi after the latter hit him first with a road
sign. He also defended his use of the term “monkey”, saying it was not racist
but simply an expression commonly used at the football stadium.

The funeral was also attended by parliamentary relations minister
Maria Elena Boschi and the president of the lower house of parliament,
Laura Boldrini.