The Lagos State High Court has dismissed a suit by Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital seeking to stop the coroner’s inquest into the death of Nkanu Adichie-Esege, the 21-month-old son of Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her husband, Ivara Esege.
Justice Aishat Opesanwo ruled that the hospital’s application was based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature and jurisdiction of a coroner’s court.
In her ruling, the judge held that an inquest is compulsory under the Lagos State Coroner’s System Law in cases of deaths occurring in specified circumstances within medical facilities. She also rejected the argument that the cremation of the child’s remains stripped the coroner of the authority to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death.
The hospital had approached the court, arguing that an inquest without the child’s body for a post-mortem examination could lead to speculative conclusions. It also challenged the procedure requiring its medical personnel to present evidence first. Nkanu died on January 7, 2026, at Euracare Hospital, and his parents have alleged medical negligence, claims the hospital has denied.
The judge clarified that a coroner’s inquest is a fact-finding process intended to establish who died, how, when and where the death occurred, rather than a criminal or civil trial to determine blame or impose punishment.
The ruling clears the way for the inquest to proceed, allowing the circumstances surrounding the toddler’s death to be examined.