The family of Rita Amenze, who was killed by her Italian husband has appealed to the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Italian Government to ensure that justice is served in the case.
The 31-year-old mother of three was brutally murdered by her husband, Pierangelo Pellizar, 61, in Noventa Vicentina, Italy on Friday, September 10, two weeks after she returned from Nigeria.
Members of the family made the call on Tuesday, September 28, in Benin when a delegation of the Edo National Association in Italy (ENAI) and the National Union of Nigerian Associations in Italy (NUNAI) paid them a condolence visit.
The delegation led by Pastor Mike Oputteh, the Welfare Officer of NUNAI arrived the family house to meet the three children of the deceased sent out of school for failure to pay school fees.
Weeping profusely, late Rita’s mother, Mrs Faith Oyahiagbon, said she had lost her hope and family’s breadwinner.
Oyahiagbon said she had developed a high blood pressure since the death of her first born broke out two weeks ago.
According to her, the children left behind are small and there is nobody to take care of them again.
“Rita was my daughter and my first born for that matter. She was all I had. She came home recently to see the children and we were all joyous. She had been in Italy for long just to seek a greener pasture,” Mrs Oyahiagbon said.
“Celebrate (her last child) was six month old when she left her for me for upbringing. We also departed joyously while she was returning only to receive the bad news about two weeks later that she was shot dead
“But I didn’t believe this until now that you all came. This looks like a film to me because how could I believe that a daughter that meant everything to me is dead,” she said.
She, however, appealed to the Nigerian Mission in Italy and the Nigerian Union to help the family get justice for the sake of the children.
“So I want appeal to all concerned authorities, for the sake of the children she left behind, to please help us seek justice.
Rita was my leg; she was my life; she was my hope and she was my everything; she even promised me a lot of things when she saw my condition. She promised to change her children school,” she said.
Oyahiagbon debunked the claim that Amenze came home to marry and challenged whoever that had evidence to come forth with it.
She explained that though she bore three children, but she never married the man responsible for those children.
Corroborating the stance, Mr Frank Akpoguma, the father of Rita’s children said he never married the deceased, but only had children together.
“We didn’t marry either registry or traditional. Yes, we had children, there was nothing like marriage between us. I have my wife (pointing to a women beside him) and we are happily married. But Rita has been source of survival for these children. She cared and catered for their upbringing and paid their school fees,” he said.
“I really wish to appeal to the Federal Government, National Assembly and the Association of Nigerians in Italy that just came that we want justice. As you can see that the children are too small, they need support so that we can care and cater for the children
“I use this medium to appeal to everybody, Nigerian government, Italian government and Nigerian Ambassador to Italy as well as Civil Rights Organisations to help because she died because of these children. She was planning to take them abroad before her life was cut short by an Italian man”, said Akpoguma.
Oputteh had earlier assured that the associations would partner the Nigerian mission to ensure justice was served in the case, more importantly, for the prosperity of the children.
He said the delegation was in Nigeria to get the true position of things particularly as regards a claim that Rita came to Nigeria in August to marry, a claim that family has refuted.
The welfare officer donated on behalf of the associations, a sum of N50,000 to the family to pay the children’s school fees.
Julian Daily Gist Editorial Team
Julian Daily Gist Editorial Team is the team responsible for researching, writing, editing, and publishing news and feature content on Julian Daily Gist. Our coverage includes Nigerian current affairs, lifestyle, entertainment, sports, health, business, and human-interest stories. We aim to provide readers with timely, accurate, and responsibly sourced information.
The Julian Daily Gist Editorial Team researches, writes, edits, and publishes news and feature content covering Nigerian current affairs, entertainment, sports, health, business, lifestyle, and human-interest stories.
We aim to provide accurate, timely, and responsibly sourced information and update our reports when credible new information becomes available.
The Julian Daily Gist Editorial Team is responsible for researching, writing, editing, and publishing content across Julian Daily Gist.
Our coverage includes Nigerian current affairs, politics, business, entertainment, sports, health, lifestyle, and human-interest stories.
We aim to provide readers with timely, accurate, useful, and responsibly sourced information. Our team makes reasonable efforts to verify important information, identify sources, distinguish allegations from confirmed facts, and update reports when credible new information becomes available.
We also believe in transparency and accountability. Readers can contact our editorial team to report factual errors, request corrections, or provide additional information relevant to a published story.
Editorial focus: News, current affairs, lifestyle, entertainment, sports, health, business, and human-interest stories.
Team BIo:
The Julian Daily Gist Editorial Team is responsible for researching, writing, editing, and publishing content across Julian Daily Gist.
Our coverage includes Nigerian current affairs, politics, business, entertainment, sports, health, lifestyle, and human-interest stories.
We aim to provide readers with timely, accurate, useful, and responsibly sourced information. Our team makes reasonable efforts to verify important information, identify sources, distinguish allegations from confirmed facts, and update reports when credible new information becomes available.
We also believe in transparency and accountability. Readers can contact our editorial team to report factual errors, request corrections, or provide additional information relevant to a published story.
Editorial focus: News, current affairs, lifestyle, entertainment, sports, health, business, and human-interest stories.
Editorial Policy:
At Julian Daily Gist, our goal is to provide readers with timely, useful, accurate, and responsibly presented news and information.
We cover Nigerian current affairs, politics, business, entertainment, sports, health, lifestyle, human-interest stories, and other topics of interest to our readers.
1. Accuracy and Verification
We make reasonable efforts to ensure that information published on Julian Daily Gist is accurate and presented in its proper context.
Before publishing a report, our editorial team makes reasonable efforts to:
- Check information against credible sources.
- Verify names, dates, locations, figures, and other important details.
- Attribute information to the appropriate source.
- Distinguish confirmed facts from allegations, claims, opinions, and speculation.
- Update stories when credible new information becomes available.
When information cannot be independently verified, we make this clear to readers rather than presenting it as established fact.
2. Sources
We use a range of sources, including:
- Official government statements.
- Police and security agencies.
- Courts and legal documents.
- Government agencies.
- Direct interviews and statements.
- Reputable news organizations.
- Publicly available records.
- Verified social media accounts and statements.
When an article relies substantially on information reported by another publication, we aim to clearly attribute the information to that source.
We do not intentionally present another publication's reporting as our own.
3. Originality
Julian Daily Gist aims to provide original editorial value.
When we report information that has already been published elsewhere, we seek to add value through original writing, context, verification, analysis, additional information, or other useful material.
We do not intentionally copy and republish articles from other websites without appropriate attribution and meaningful editorial contribution.
4. Allegations and Sensitive Claims
When reporting allegations involving individuals or organizations, we make reasonable efforts to clearly identify allegations as allegations.
We avoid presenting unproven accusations as established facts.
Where relevant, we seek or include responses from the person, organization, or representative concerned.
For criminal matters, we recognize that an allegation, arrest, charge, or accusation does not by itself establish guilt.
5. Headlines
Our headlines are intended to accurately reflect the content of our articles.
We aim to avoid deliberately misleading headlines, fabricated claims, or headlines that exaggerate facts simply to generate clicks.
6. Corrections and Updates
We take corrections seriously.
If we discover that an article contains a significant factual error, we may correct or update the article as appropriate.
Readers who identify an error are encouraged to contact us with specific information supporting the correction.
Where appropriate, significant corrections or updates may be noted within the article.
7. Editorial Independence
Editorial decisions are made independently of advertisers, sponsors, commercial partners, and other external interests.
Advertising or sponsorship does not automatically influence our editorial decisions or the opinions expressed by our writers.
8. Sponsored and Promotional Content
Where Julian Daily Gist publishes sponsored, paid, or promotional content, we aim to clearly identify it as such.
Sponsored content does not necessarily represent the independent editorial views of Julian Daily Gist.
9. Conflicts of Interest
Our editorial team should avoid situations where personal, financial, or other interests could improperly influence reporting.
Where a relevant conflict of interest exists, we aim to disclose it when appropriate.
10. Use of Images and Other Media
We aim to use images, videos, graphics, and other media responsibly and with appropriate permission, licensing, attribution, or other lawful basis where required.
We do not knowingly use copyrighted material in a manner that infringes the rights of its owner.
If you believe that material published on Julian Daily Gist infringes your copyright, please contact us so that we can review the matter.
11. Artificial Intelligence
We may use technology and artificial intelligence tools to assist with certain editorial tasks, such as research support, proofreading, formatting, transcription, or drafting assistance.
However, AI-generated information is not treated as automatically accurate. Content remains subject to human review, editing, fact-checking, and editorial judgment before publication where appropriate.
We do not intentionally publish fabricated information generated by AI.
12. Privacy and Personal Information
We take reasonable care when handling personal information and avoid publishing unnecessary private information about individuals.
Sensitive personal information is published only when there is a legitimate public-interest reason and where appropriate.
Our handling of visitor information is explained in our Privacy Policy.
13. Opinion and Commentary
Opinion articles and commentary represent the views expressed by the respective writer or contributor.
Where appropriate, opinion content will be identified as commentary, analysis, or opinion so that readers can distinguish it from straightforward news reporting.
14. User-Generated Content
Comments and other material submitted by readers may be moderated.
We reserve the right to remove content that is unlawful, defamatory, abusive, discriminatory, misleading, threatening, spam-related, or otherwise inappropriate.
User comments do not necessarily represent the views of Julian Daily Gist.
15. Our Commitment
We are committed to improving the quality, accuracy, transparency, and usefulness of Julian Daily Gist.
As our publication grows, we will continue reviewing our editorial practices and updating this policy when necessary.
16. Contact and Corrections
If you have a correction, clarification, complaint, copyright concern, or question about our editorial practices, please contact us through our Contact Us page.
