LAGOS — Award-winning Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and her husband, Ivara Esege, have urged the Lagos State High Court to dismiss a suit filed by Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital seeking to stop a coroner’s inquest into the death of their 21-month-old son, Nkanu Adichie-Esege.
Counsel to the couple, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, made the application on Monday, describing the hospital’s suit as premature.
Pinheiro argued that the coroner had not made any finding or reached a decision that could warrant judicial review by the High Court.
Nkanu, one of Adichie’s twins, died on January 7, 2026, following complications during a series of preparatory medical procedures at Euracare Hospital.
A coroner sitting in the Igbosere Magisterial District in Yaba commenced an inquest in February to investigate the circumstances surrounding the child’s death.
The proceedings later raised concerns over the availability of the remains after it emerged that Nkanu had been cremated.
Following the development, Euracare approached the Lagos State High Court, challenging the coroner’s assumption of jurisdiction and the manner in which the inquest was initiated and conducted.
The hospital also questioned the coroner’s jurisdiction in circumstances where the child’s remains had been cremated before the commencement of the inquest.
In June, the High Court ordered a temporary suspension of the inquest pending determination of the judicial review proceedings.
The coroner subsequently adjourned the proceedings until October.
Adichie’s lawyer: Inquest still at preliminary stage
At Monday’s proceedings, Pinheiro told the court that the coroner’s proceedings remained at a preliminary stage, with no witness having testified and no evidence formally tendered.
He argued that Euracare’s judicial review application was an attempt to pre-empt a decision that the coroner had yet to make.
The senior lawyer also relied on Section 21 of the Lagos State Coroners’ System Law, arguing that the provision permits an inquest to proceed even where a body has been destroyed or cannot be recovered.
According to him, the absence of Nkanu’s remains did not automatically deprive the coroner of jurisdiction to investigate the circumstances surrounding the child’s death.
The Lagos State Attorney-General, Lawal Pedro, also urged the court to dismiss Euracare’s suit.
However, counsel to Euracare, Taiwo Osipitan, argued that the hospital should not be compelled to present its evidence first when the complainant, who had raised allegations of medical incompetence, had yet to present its case.
After hearing arguments from counsel, Justice Aisat Opesanwo reserved ruling on the application until October 12, 2026.
The ruling is expected to determine the next stage of the legal proceedings and whether the challenge to the coroner’s inquest will proceed.
