Dr Chike Akunyili, the widower of the late Prof. Dora Akunyili’s has been shot dead by unknown gunmen.
A family source confirmed to SaharaReporters that “Chike Akunyili was shot on Tuesday night near Onitsha”, the commercial hub of Anambra State.
“He went for his late wife’s memorial lecture in Onitsha and was going back to Enugu, that was when the thing happened. He was shot dead by gunmen. I don’t know how it happened,” the source added.
Chike’s brother, Cyril in an Instagram post on Wednesday said, “IPOB killed my senior brother. Why? Husband of Prof Dora Akunyili is dead. IPOB why on a Tuesday?”
He later deleted the post.
His wife, a former director-general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), died in an Indian hospital on June 7, 2014 at the age of 57 after a prolonged ailment.
She was the DG of NAFDAC from 2001 to 2008.
Chike and his late wife had six children.
After the death of his wife, Chike described her as “an elephant who loved her country even during her travails”.
“Her love for Nigeria was phenomenal and beyond words; even in her last days when she was very ill, she insisted that she would serve the country with her last breath.
“She wanted a home called Nigeria where citizens could live and enjoy,” he had said.
