By Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku
A court of Appeal in Catania, Italy, has quashed various sentences and fines imposed on Nigerians by an Italian court over mafia-related charges as contained in the BIS Law of Italy. The Appeal Court has ordered their immediate release.
The Nigerians, Kingrney Ewiarion, Michael Osokay, Sunday Aghaulor, Famous William, Fedeli Okowe and Juliet Benjamin were arrested in 2019 in various cities in Italy over mafia-related charges under the Article 416 BIS Law.
Italian media, https://livesicilia.it/2022/01/20/sentenza-ribaltata-in-appello-assolti-non-sono-affiliati-alla-mafia-nigeriana/, said that Mr. Ewiarion had been sentenced to 10 years, while Osokay, Juliet, Aghaulor, and Williams were slapped with 8 years each, with various degrees of fines.
Italian media has indicated too that the Nigerians were arrested for ‘having created a cell of the cult Vikings specializing in drug trafficking at the Cara di Mineo’.
Cinzia Pecoraro, defense counsel told Italian media that Justice has finally been done. “We managed to overturn a sentence that had unjustly condemned the defendants for mafia association.
“The Court of Appeal accepted the defensive findings, sanctioning what is a truth that has always been shouted loudly by the accused. The reasons of the Court of Appeal of Catania will be filed in 90 days,” Mr. Pecoraro was quoted as having said.
Recall that in 2021, Mr. Osaze Ero, ex Edo Culture Commissioner said that there were over 300 Nigerians rotting in Italian jails over bogus charges of belonging to ‘Nigerian Mafia.’ Mr. Ero was arrested in Brussels on his way to Germany to discuss return of Benin Artefacts to Nigeria.
After he was prosecuted and eventually acquitted by the Italian Courts, he embarked on a protest at the Italian embassies in Lagos and London for the release of Nigerians unjustly imprisoned in Italy.
According to Ero, “if you have been tried under the obnoxious 416 BIS Crime, there is an everlasting dent on your image even to your unborn generations.
“When the Italians seek to prosecute Nigerians under the 416BIS, they initiate all sorts of dirty methods and tricks, including the use of forged documents and manipulation of unscrupulous Nigerians or ex-cons to speak against their own people with the promise of documentation for resident permit or freedom from prison.”
Spouses of some of the Nigerians in Italian jails also embarked on protests. Two of them, Wendy Igwema and Mrs. Amanchukwu have had their stories published in The Guardian and ThisDay Newspapers in Nigeria.
According to Mrs. Igwema, “My husband has been in prison over ten months without charge. Each time he is taken before a judge, the Italian police always argued for an adjournment which they always got.
“Most of the said court appearances were online, and only the lawyer makes an appearance. I was pregnant when they came to arrest him, and the sudden nature of the affair led to my losing my pregnancy.”
In spite of the decision of the Italian Court of Appeal in favor of Nigerians held in Italian prisons under the Article 416 BIS, controversies remain over the actual numbers in these jails. In June 2018, then Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Stefanou Pontesilli said that there were over 1,500 Nigerians in Italian jails.
When he embarked on his protest in 2021, Mr. Ero told a press conference that there were over 300 Nigerians in Italian jails. In November 2021, there were reports that some Nigerians were released after the visit of His Excellency Mr. Mfawa Omini Abam Nigerian Ambassador to Italy.
In spite of requests by Nigerians, most of which have been sent directly to Mr. Omini Abam, the Nigerian embassy in Rome continues to ignore requests by Nigerians seeking to know the actual number of the nation’s citizens in Italian jails.
When Alltimepost.com spoke to Mr. Ero on the decision of the Italian Appeal Court, he said that the appeal court decision is a “vindication for Nigeria,”
“This is exactly what we have been sayings, that if they have committed any crimes, let them be put through the gamut of the specific crimes they have committed instead of lumping them all up under the obnoxious Article 416 BIS,” Mr. Ero asserted.
