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Emeka Ike is one of the most popular Nigerian Nollywood actors famous for his roles as the classic lover boy in Nollywood movies. He has also been branded as one of Nollywood’s ‘Bad boys’ as a result of playing roles in movies where he gets physical and abuses women.
Emeka Ike’s Biography
Emeka Ike is of Igbo origin. Though his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Nicolas Ike, are from Imo State, he was born and brought up in Lagos. Emeka Ike’s father was a pastor before he died.
The actor had his primary and tertiary education in Lagos, South West Nigeria. Unlike some of his contemporaries, he studied mechanical engineering at the University but nurtured a burning passion for the arts.
Emeka got his break into Nollywood while he was still an undergraduate. His breakthrough came when one of his senior colleagues in the industry Ernest Obi introduced him to a movie producer Charles Owoyemi who was producing the popular TV series Fortunes. Emeka Ike’s first major movie role was in the movie Deadly Affair in 1987, and according to the actor, he has lost count of the number of movies he had featured in.
He has acted in over 60 Nollywood movies, including Right Man for Me, Passion and Pain, Passions, Queen Sheba, Not Man Enough, Two Become One {1,2}, I Want Your Wife {1, 2}, Foreign Affairs {1, 2}, Divided Kingdom {1, 2} and others. He also served as the president of Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN).
Family, Wife
Emeka Ike got married to his half-Dutch, half-Nigerian wife in the year 2000. Their wedding celebration was like a carnival as many of his colleagues in Nollywood were there to honor him. The marriage which produced four children, however, was not rosy and on several occasions, he had blamed different people including the former president of the Actors’ Guild of Nigeria, Ibinabo Fiberesima Egbuka and Household of God preacher, Pastor Chris Okotie, for his marital woes.
Speaking about the issues surrounding her marriage, Emeka Ike’s wife revealed that spending a day more in her matrimonial home is very detrimental to her health as she could no longer bear being tortured anymore.
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The couple stayed in a divorce feud over a long period, with the actor constantly denying it. Emeka Ike’s wife, Emma, had some time in 2015 filed a divorce against him; appealing to the court to dissolve the 16-year-old union between her and the Nollywood actor on grounds of an incessant battery.
The actor had vehemently denied the allegation and existence of a divorce feud in July 2016. He later begged the court not to separate them, saying that he still loved his wife.
However, in 2017, a Lagos Island Customary Court finally dissolved the union due to a petition filed by Suzanne.
Emeka Ike was given full custody of their four children but the court ordered that his ex-wife Suzanne should be given unhindered access to them. Despite the seemingly fair judgment, the actor promised that he will fight to clear his image which his wife tried to tarnish with claims that he was a wife beater, as he isn’t one. He further noted that his marriage was dissolved illegally since neither he nor his lawyer was at the court to sign the divorce paper. According to him, he would still take his wife back if she confesses as he believes she acted under some influence.
Relationship with Chika Ike
You may be wondering if Emeka Ike and Chika Ike are siblings or related in any way considering the fact they share the same surname? This simple analysis will put you through.
Emeka Ike is from Imo State, born in Lagos and started acting in Nollywood long before Chika Ike came into the limelight. Chika Ike, on the other hand, was born in Onitsha, Anambra State but was brought up in Lagos. So Emeka Ike and Chika Ike are neither brother and sister nor closely related. While Emeka Ike is from Imo State, Chika Ike hails from Anambra State. The surname is just a mere coincidence.
Dead Or Alive?
He may have been among the actors that have found themselves in the worst kind of rumor; celebrity death hoax. But he is very much alive. Rather, the actor had escaped two attempts on his life claiming those behind his separation from his wife were those that targetted his life. He promised to reveal them at the right time. In 2017, the actor celebrated his 50th birthday.