Research Interests & Areas of Specialization

• Air, Space and Telecommunications Law
• Comparative Law
• International Human Rights Law
• International Investment Law
• International Law

Education

• LLM, (magna cum laude) Kiev State University, Ukraine
• DrJur, Free University of Amsterdam

Professional & Teaching Experience

• Solicitor and advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
• Practiced with Ilegbune, Okeke & Co. (Nigeria).
• Consulted for The Law Offices of Dr. Jude A. Akubuilo (Los Angeles).
• Former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (Nigeria).
• Pioneer Dean of the Schools of Law, namely: Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka (formerly Anambra State University of Technology), and Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu, Nigeria.
• Author of Controversial Subjects of Contemporary International Law and Theory and Practice of International Law in Nigeria and numerous book chapters and review articles in the field of international law.
• Taught courses in international legal studies at various universities in Africa, Europe and North America for 25 years.

Selected Publications

• The Viability and Sustainability of Landlocked States Under International Law vis-a-vis Municipal Law: The Case of South East States of Nigeria, Paper presented at the Seventh Annual Chief Judge’s Dinner and Award Night held in Awka, Nigeria, 24 March 2018, with the theme: Prosperity, its Sustenance, and the Rule of Law Dimension.
• “The Role and Place of Women in Contemporary Legal Profession with reference to Nigeria,” Keynote paper delivered at Inwelle Study and Research Centre, Enugu, Nigeria, December 2017. (Published in the Symposium Proceedings).
• The Use of International Law in the Domestic Courts of Ghana and Nigeria, 32 Ariz. J. Int’l. & Comp. L. 371 (2015).
• The Second Scramble for Africa’s Oil and Mineral Resources: Blessing or Curse? 42 The International Lawyer 193 (2008).
• The Exteat of a Remarkable Man from the Academia: Distinguished Professor Dr. Sompong Sucharitkul: Statesman, Diplomat and Notable Scholar, 13 Annual Survey of Intl. and Comp. Law 1 (2007).
• United States Migration Law: Essentials for Comparison, 2006 Am. J. of Comp. Law Supp. 531. With James A.R. Nafziger.
• The Debt Burden: An African Perspective, 35 The International Lawyer 1489 (2001).
• International Law in the Nigerian Legal System, 27 Cal. Western Int’l. L.J. 311 (1997).
• A Note on the Right of Secession as Human Right, 3 Annual Survey of Int’l. & Comp. L. 27 (1996).
• Africa and the Environment, 3 Annual Survey of Int’l. & Comp. L. 37 (1996).
• Law – A Mordant to Science and Technology, 1 ESUT Journal of Science and Technology 31 (1993).
• Science, Technology and the Law: The Impact of Science and Technology on Law (Enugu: Gresham Publishers, 1992)
• Catholic Social Teachings Enroute in Africa, ch. Bankruptcy of Justice under Nigerian Law (Ike, ed., 1991).
• Management in Nigeria, ch. Nigerian Law of Contract (Ejiofor, ed., 1990).
• The Soviet Union in World Politics, ch. Nigeria’s Relations with Eastern Europe (Victor Kalu, ed., 1988).
• The Theory and Practice of International Law in Nigeria (Enugu: Fourth Dimension Press, 1986).
• Nigerian-Soviet Economic and Industrial Relations, ed. (Enugu: Chuka Press, 1983).
• New Directions in International Law, ch. Treaty-Making and Treaty Implementation by a Federal State under International Law with Particular Reference to the Relevant Provisions of the 1979 Nigerian Constitution (1982).
• Nigerian Foreign Policy Under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1979, 55 Suffolk Transnational L.J. 201 (1981).
• Introduction to Nigerian Law, ch. International Law (C.O. Okonkwo ed., 1980).
• The Recent Developments in the Law Relating to Aliens in Nigeria, 1 Univ. of Jos L.J. 35 (1980).
• Marketing in Nigeria, ch. The Impact of Law on Marketing (J. O. Onah ed., 1979).
• Settlement of Disputes Between International Organizations and Their Employees (The Hague Academy, 1976).
• The Legal Framework of the Provision of Open Spaces in Anambra State of Nigeria, 1976 U. of Nigeria J. of Tropical Environment.
• Controversial Subjects of Contemporary International Law: an examination of the new entities of international law and treaty-making capacity (Rotterdam: Rotterdam Univ. Press, 1974).
• The Expansion of New Subjects of Contemporary International Law Through their Treaty-Making Capacity (Rotterdam University Press, 1973).
• International Treaty as the Main Source of Contemporary International Law (Kiev Univ. Press, 1969). Written and published in Russian.

Selected Speeches & Presentations

• Developing Career Paths in Legal Academia: Prospects and Challenges.  Presentation given at the Academic & Career Advancement Symposium (ACAS) 2019 Held at the Faculty of Law, Enugu State University of Science & Technology, Friday, 5 July 2019.
• “African Law in Comparative Law.” An annual lecture delivered to the students of the Comparative Law Course at Santa Clara University, School of Law. 2017-2018.
• “Directing the Legal and Regulatory Framework on Biosafety in Nigeria,” delivered at the three day International Biosafety Management Training Course held at Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu, Nigeria, July 16-19, 2018.
• “Mentorship in Scholarly and Professional Legal Education Development,” Welcome address delivered at the 2018 Annual Conference of the Literary Society of Nigeria held at Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu, Nigeria, 26-29 June, 2018.

Honors & Awards

• 2012: For his outstanding services to the Catholic Church and humanity, Prof. Okeke received the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (Cross of Honor), the highest medal that can be awarded to the laity by the Papacy, from Pope Benedict XVI.
• A book of essays in honor of Prof. Okeke has been published by Vandeplas Publishing: Contemporary Issues on International and Comparative Law: Essays in Honor of Professor Chris Okeke (2009). The book has 27 chapters and explores the broad range of legal, personal, social, political and historical foundations of international law and covers many important subjects in comparative law. The authors are drawn from varying cultures across the oceans of the world, representing diverse legal philosophies and corresponding practices. The noted Editor of the book is Justice Centus Nweze, an erudite judge and international law scholar of the Nigeria Court of Appeal. The writer of the foreword is His Excellency Judge Abdul G. Koroma – a two-term erudite judge of the International Court of Justice at the Hague.