A Nigerian man who scooped €500,000 on an Italian scratchcard however discovered himself unable to gather the prize on account of his undocumented standing has lastly been granted permission to stay within the nation.
Imagbe Ehizomwengie, 36, bought the successful €5 Gratta e Vinci ticket utilizing cash he had earned promoting handkerchiefs and begging exterior a grocery store.
Upon discovering his fortune, he broke down in tears of happiness and reduction, but his pleasure proved fleeting when obstacles prevented him from accessing the funds.
This week, a tribunal in Ancona dominated Ehizomwengie ought to obtain a residency allow.
“I have been praying for this second ever since I arrived in Italy,” he mentioned. “It is an enormous reduction. You would possibly suppose it is unbelievable, however receiving the allow means extra to me than successful the cash.”
Ehizomwengie’s path to Italy was marked by excessive hardship. He departed Nigeria after his mom urged him to flee obligations tied to a secret society run by his father, in accordance with Italian newspaper Il Resto del Carlino.
His route took him throughout the Sahara Desert earlier than he was captured in Libya, the place he remained imprisoned for roughly two years till a ransom secured his launch.
He finally crossed the Mediterranean by boat, reaching Palermo in the course of the summer time of 2016 earlier than authorities transferred him to the Marche area.
This week, a tribunal in Ancona dominated Imagbe Ehizomwengie, who’s initially from Nigeria, ought to obtain a residency allow
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His software for “particular safety” standing was turned down by immigration officers in Pesaro. This class of allow, which beforehand supplied residency to asylum seekers going through critical risks if returned house, had been curtailed by Giorgia Meloni’s Authorities in 2023.
With out legitimate documentation, Ehizomwengie discovered himself trapped in an not possible scenario. He couldn’t open a checking account to obtain his winnings, but with out entry to these funds, he lacked the monetary independence required to strengthen his residency software.
Determined for an answer, he handed the cash to a fellow Nigerian whom he trusted as a good friend. The association rapidly soured when this particular person started spending the funds as if they have been his personal.
Intervention from different members of the Nigerian group, together with Ehizomwengie’s cousin, finally compelled a decision. Roughly €250,000 was transferred to the cousin’s account to maintain a portion of the winnings throughout the household.
These funds have been subsequently used to buy Mama Africa, an African meals store within the coastal city of Falconara Marittima.
The Ancona tribunal based mostly its choice on a number of components: Ehizomwengie’s robust command of Italian, his integration into native society, his employment at Mama Africa, and his unblemished prison file.
His lawyer, Andrea Palazzeschi, emphasised the lottery windfall was not the figuring out issue. “However it’s essential to emphasize that Imagbe did not get the residence allow as a result of he received the cash, he obtained it as a result of he proved to be candidate,” he mentioned.
Ehizomwengie has turn into one thing of an area celeb in Falconara, the place he intends to throw a celebration for your complete group. “However solely to rejoice receiving my allow,” he mentioned. “I wish to work and intend to maintain my ft firmly on the bottom. I simply wish to dwell a standard life.”
