Professor Chimere Ikoku (1928 - 2002)
Professor of Chemistry

Born on July 3 1928. After obtaining in 1946 O’Level in Biology and Physics with Chemistry, he left Nigeria for the University of Nottingham, England, where he passed the Inter B.Sc. in Chemistry, Physics and Pure Mathematics in 1949. In 1952, he completed the Master of Science degree in Chemistry at the University of Chicago in the USA.

He came back in May 1953 to start the teaching of science at Aggrey Memorial College, Arochukwu. Between June 1956 and December 1959 he taught in a number of secondary schools in Lagos.

In 1960 he returned to Chicago and between 1964 and 1965 he was a lecturer and post-doctoral research fellow (medicinal chemistry), University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.

He came back finally to Nigeria in September 1965 to join the staff of the Department of Chemistry, University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN). In 1982, he became the foundation Vice-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Akure.

In December 1985, he was appointed the Vice-Chancellor of UNN, and he left a record of being the first Vice-Chancellor to complete two terms. He was brutally murdered on Sunday morning of October 13 2002 in his residence, at Enugu by unknown assassins.