Belluno, who died diving into Lake Como, faith helps the Igboh family

The parents of the Nigerian boy who drowned after a dive trust God. “We don’t know if he knew how to swim and we can only pray for him”

BELLUNO. The pain is excruciating, the faith unshakable. Father Ernest and mother Constance trust in God, to try to understand the tragedy of the death of their son Favor, in the waters of Lake Como. A religious belief, which is testified by several stickers stuck on the door of the public apartment in via dell’Anta, but above all it is rooted in their parents’ hearts: “We are Pentecostal Catholics”, explains Ernest Igboh, “and we know that God has reserved eternal life for those who believe in him on Earth. We hope for this for our boy ».

The man of Nigerian nationality has just returned by train from Lombardy, where he had to endure the most dramatic moment for a father: that of recognizing the body of his son who died at 21, on the morgue table. He climbs the stairs, after having been to the Carabinieri of the Belluno Command for the last necessary formalities and shows an impressive fortitude under a red shirt, with the design of the Colosseum and laurel wreaths. After all, her wife has the eyes of someone who hasn’t slept for days and we must give her courage: «We must continue to live, in memory of Favor. Life will go on, despite this immense drama, which has struck us and, at this moment, seems incomprehensible to us. That lifeless body belongs to our son, unfortunately and we can no longer do anything about it, except to pray for him ».

A small but precious help comes from the closeness and affection of friends. The Nigerian community is not very numerous in the city, but yesterday morning several arrived to bring their solidarity. People who still couldn’t believe what happened at the beginning of the week for a tragic game, during a carefree vacation. A dip in the Lario, to be immortalized in a video of friends. But could Favor know how to swim? “We can’t tell. We have never seen it at the sea or in the pool, so we are not certain about this aspect. It was certainly an accident, which cost him his life. The Carabinieri from Como told us that he never re-emerged and ended up drowning, under the eyes of the other boys, who we do not know anyway ».

It is not surprising that we do not know something about African parents that Italian couples undoubtedly know. Favor Igboh was 18 years old and he had never done any swimming lessons when he decided to leave the Borgo Prà district to go to work in England. He had studied languages ​​and was a great football fan, if it is true that, among his personal effects, a visitor card was found from Anfield Road, the Liverpool stadium: “He was certainly working, otherwise he would not have been able to afford the holidays in Italy “, explain his parents,” we know that the company was based in Milan and the intention was to reach Vienna, before returning overseas. There was a ticket already booked ».

There is no certain day for the young Nigerian’s body to arrive in Belluno, but it shouldn’t be long, since the Prosecutor’s Office has no opento any inquiry. Where will Favor Igboh rest? “The judiciary has not ordered an autopsy, in any case there is no precise date. We haven’t been told anything. But we don’t think it’s appropriate to bring it to Nigeria. We both work in the provinces and a flight to Lagos takes up to seven hours and has a significant cost to our possibilities. Before making a final decision, we are waiting for him here in Belluno ».