John
Ogah, an illegal Nigerian migrant adjudged a hero after foiling a robbery at an
Italian shop, has been baptised by Pope Francis.
In September 2017, Ogah earned the
admiration of many after he confronted an armed robber who had stolen some
money from a supermarket located in Rome’s Centocelle neighbourhood.
Prior to that, the 31-year-old
left Nigeria for Libya, in 2014, while attempting to escape a criminal gang
that wanted to recruit him, according to Italian media.
He later found his way to Italy
and after his request for asylum was rejected in 2016 but he decided to stay on
as an undocumented migrant.
As what had become his normal routine,
he was outside the supermarket begging for money when a masked thief armed with
a meat cleaver tried to escape with €400 he had stolen from the supermarket’s
cashiers.
But Ogah confronted him — with
bare hands and wrestled him down till the police arrived the scene.
“I
wouldn’t have cared if he had killed me that day, what he did was not good.”
John told the BBC,
adding: “The Bible says thou shalt not steal. Yes, thou shalt not steal.”
He later got three jobs offers
after the incident and was able secure an Italian residency permit, with the
help of the police.
As part of Easter service at the
Vatican, he was baptised by the Pope alongside seven others from across the
world.
Ogah described the experience to
BBC as a “great surprise” to him and the “happiest” in his life.
“To be baptised by the Pope, it
means a great future, a great blessing,” he was quoted to have said. “I was
nobody before, but now I become somebody.
“I feel so happy right now. The
Pope laid his hand on me.…and believed I am somebody.”
Source: thecable.ng
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