Nigerian Father Seeks Italian Visa To See Rescued Children ...loses wife,14yr old son in Mediterranean Sea

Ndigwe, wife, & three sons

By Alphonsus Nweze
A Nigerian father, Mr. Ikechukwu  Ndigwe, has appealed to the Italian Embassy in Nigeria to issue him with visa to travel to Italy to meet with his two sons rescued from the Mediterranean Sea in 2016 by the Italian Navy.

Ndigwe who hails from Ezinwoye village of Adazi-Nnukwu in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, said he had earlier applied for the visa but it was turned down.

Ndigwe said he desperately needed the visa to reunite with his two sons who are in custody of a Guardian, Ms.Malandrino Maria Paula in Siracusa, a city located 30km away from Catania in Italy.

Tobechukwu Matthew Ndigwe and Ebubechukwu David Ndigwe, were in 2016 rescued from Mediterranean Sea when the boat they were crossing from Libya to Italy with their mother capsized.



Unfortunately, their mother, Mrs. Joy Ndigwe and their first son, Gozie Samuel Ndigwe were drowned in the mishap.

But when the relations of their father Ikechukwu wanted to take the custody of the children as he (Ikechukwu) was in detention in Morocco, the Italian authority through Dottorressa Pricoco Francisco, the  the President ofTribunals of Minor in Catania, Italy said the two boys  would only be released to their blood relation who will present himself or her self physically to Tribunal with his or her full identities and evidence of financial capabilities including bank statement.

The Judge  further ruled  " such a relation must bring to the tribunal a comprehensive bio-data of the three boys including the elder one that died and also the identities of the children's biological father and mother".

But when Ikechukwu applied for a visa to travel to Italy as  provided  above as the  requirements outlined by  Judge Francisco, the Embassy turned the request down via a letter dated June 10, 2018 on a number of grounds.

However in appeal filed by Ikechukwu' s attorney to the Appeal Section of the Embassy, A.M. Egbesons , he said they have provided  more than enough documents both from Nigeria and  from Italian Government,  showing the need for someone capable of fending for the sons of the Applicant, Mr. Ndigwe could apply to take the children.

He said that the Applicant  has sufficiently showed he is the father of the children the wife intended to take to Italy before the disaster.

Ndigwe' s lawyer argued that the demand for financial capability should not in anyway be extended to the biological father of the children.

"Mr. Ikechukwu Ndigwe is applying to visit Italy to set his eyes on his children after the ill fated journey that be felled them and nothing more. Any decision to deny him from such a visit amounts to unfairness, inhuman and condemnable" urging the Embassy to discountenance the earlier position and allow the Appeal in the interest of justice.

The lawyer said " if the appeal fails there is  the ugly possibility that these children will forever not be allowed to see their only surviving relation, which is their biological father, Mr.Ikechukwu Ndigwe and as such a situation created by human mechanism is absolutely wrong and must be avoided at the earliest opportunity.

Meanwhile, the chairman of Human Rights Defenders of Nigeria, Dede Uzor A. Uzor, has called on the Italian authority to respect the sanctity of human life by providing Ikechukwu with the necessary papers to travel and see his sons.

He however commended the Italian authority for the gesture in rescuing  and safe-keeping of those two children, appealing to  them to expedite action on the release of the two boys as he is still mourning the drowning of his wife and 14 years old first son.