Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her husband, Ivara Esege, on Monday asked the Lagos State High Court to throw out a suit by Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital seeking to stop a coroner’s inquest into the death of their 21-month-old son.
Their lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro, told Justice Aisat Opesanwo that the hospital’s application for judicial review was premature. He said the coroner had not yet made any finding or reached any conclusion that could properly be reviewed by the High Court.
Nkanu Adichie-Esege, one of the couple’s twins, died on January 7, 2026, after complications during preparatory medical procedures at Euracare. A coroner in the Igbosere Magisterial District, Yaba, opened an inquest in February to examine the circumstances of the death.
During those proceedings it emerged that the child’s remains had been cremated, raising questions about forensic examination. Euracare later went to the High Court, challenging the coroner’s jurisdiction and the way the inquest had been started and conducted, particularly because the body was no longer available.
In June the High Court ordered a temporary halt to the inquest pending the judicial review. The coroner then adjourned the matter until October.
At Monday’s hearing Pinheiro argued that the inquest was still at a preliminary stage. No witness had testified and no evidence had been formally tendered. He said the hospital was trying to pre-empt a decision the coroner had not yet taken. Relying on Section 21 of the Lagos State Coroners’ System Law, he submitted that an inquest can proceed even when a body has been destroyed or cannot be recovered. The absence of Nkanu’s remains, he said, did not strip the coroner of jurisdiction. Lagos State Attorney-General Lawal Pedro also urged the court to dismiss the hospital’s suit.
Euracare’s counsel, Taiwo Osipitan, countered that the hospital should not be forced to present its evidence first while the complainant, who alleged medical incompetence, had not yet put forward its case.
After hearing the parties, Justice Opesanwo reserved ruling until October 12, 2026.
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