General

Over 7,700 sign petition seeking justice for 27-year-old Nigerian killed in Ireland

No fewer than 7,707 persons have signed a petition seeking justice for a 27-year-old Nigerian, Mr George Nkencho, who was killed by police in Ireland.

The PUNCH reports that Nkencho was shot dead by gardaí ((Irish police) during an incident in west Dublin on Wednesday afternoon.

A protest took place Thursday morning outside a garda station in Dublin following the fatal shooting of the 27-year-old Nigerian.

In a video that surfaced online, some protesters knelt outside Blanchardstown Garda Station in memory of Nkencho. They also displayed placards with various inscriptions.

Tweeps on social media compared the Nigerian’s killing to high profile events in the United States, involving the death of black people at the hands of the police.

It was learnt that shots were discharged at the Nigerian after apparent attempts to subdue him by two tasers and pepper spray proved unsuccessful. The online petition on change.org targets 10, 000 as of 05:28 pm on Friday when our correspondent visited the website.

The petition, titled, ‘Justice for the unlawful killing of George Nkencho #justiceforgeorge’, was started by Megan Lacey.

It read, “A young black man was fatally shot dead by Garda on the 30th of December 2020. 12 Garda followed him home and shot him outside of his home three times. George Nkencho suffered from a mental illness. There were five Garda with guns and George was carrying a knife.

“The Garda are trained to be able to deal with it these situations, and the fatal shooting of George was completely avoidable and unlawful.

“The garda that have been trained to project our country have failed miserably. They are trained so that justice is always served. They need to take responsibility for their actions and the unlawful killing of George.

“Help us get the attention of the Department of Justice. We want answers! We want justice for George.”

Piix: Late  George Nkencho