Kaduna's Commissioner of Education dies

The Kaduna State Commissioner of Education, Prof. Andrew Nok, has died in the early hours of Tuesday, November 21, 2017.

The 55-year-old had reportedly suffered from an undisclosed illness and was discharged from an Abuja hospital last week after treatment.

In a press statement signed by state governor, Nasir El-Rufai's spokesman, Samuel Aruwan, the governor said Prof. Nok's intellect and deep conviction will be sorely missed.

The statement read, "We are saddened by the loss of Professor Jonathan Andrew Nok, our respected Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology. Professor Nok was a man of intellect, ability and deep conviction who will be sorely missed.

"Governor Nasir El-Rufai has led members of the State Executive Council to visit and commiserate with the Nok family. In this moment of distress, the government prays God to comfort his family and grant his gentle soul peaceful repose.

"Malam El-Rufai described Professor Nok as 'a pillar of the cabinet, a man as distinguished in learning as he was a capable administrator, adept at getting things done and dedicated to the progress of the state.

"Professor Nok was one of the best this country has produced, and one of the most committed persons to have served Kaduna State. He was steadfast, rigorous and very successful in implementing our project to improve Health and Education in the state. He will be sorely missed."

During his lifetime, the professor of Biochemistry won many national and international awards, including the nation's highest academic honour, the Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM) in the science category.

The Nok native also won the NLNG Science Prize in 2009 for his work on the discovery of the gene responsible for sleeping sickness, and also won the Alexander von Humboldt prize for science in 2013.