A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikoyi on Monday, October 12, dismissed an application by Eurapharma Care Services Nigeria Limited, the operator of Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital, to halt a coroner’s inquest into the death of Nkanu Esege, the 21-month-old son of author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her husband, Dr Ivara Esege, which clears the way for the inquest to resume.
Justice Aishat Opesanwo was reported to have held that the cremation of the child’s body did not, by itself, take away the coroner’s power to investigate, and that the law requires an inquest once the conditions set out in the Coroners System Law of Lagos State 2007 are met. She was also reported to have said that a coroner’s inquest is a fact-finding inquiry and not a trial, and that no one is on trial in a coroner’s court. The hospital had argued that the cremation made a post-mortem examination impossible, while counsel for the family was reported to have relied on provisions of the law that allow an inquest to proceed where a body has been destroyed or cannot be recovered.
The court was also reported to have rejected the hospital’s objection to a directive requiring its medical staff to present evidence first, holding that the coroner has discretion over the order in which statements and evidence are taken. The hospital’s lawyer, Taiwo Osipitan, SAN, had argued that the arrangement violated its right to a fair hearing and that it had never agreed to lead evidence, while the family’s lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, had described the hospital’s application as premature because the coroner had not yet made any decision capable of being reviewed.
Nkanu died on January 7, 2026, after treatment at Atlantis Paediatric Hospital, from where he was reportedly referred to Euracare for pre-flight diagnostic procedures ahead of plans to transfer him to Johns Hopkins Hospital in the United States. His parents were reported to have alleged prima facie breaches of the duty of care, while Euracare has denied wrongdoing, saying that its medical personnel followed standard procedures and that the child arrived critically ill.
The inquest was initiated at the request of the Lagos State Attorney-General, and the coroner’s court in Yaba had earlier fixed April 14 for hearings to begin. The proceedings were reported to have been temporarily suspended in June while the hospital’s application was pending, and at a hearing on September 28 the family’s counsel said that no witness had yet testified. Following Monday’s ruling, the inquest at the Igbosere Magisterial District in Yaba is now set to resume.
