Chimamanda Adichie and her husband have urged a Lagos court to dismiss Euracare’s suit seeking to halt the inquest into their son Nkanu’s death.
Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie and her husband, Dr. Ivara Esege, have asked the Lagos State High Court to dismiss a suit filed by Eurapharma Care Services Nigeria Limited, operator of Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital, seeking to halt the coroner’s inquest into the death of their son, Nkanu Adichie-Esege.
Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, counsel for Adichie and Esege, told the court on Monday that the hospital’s suit was premature. Pinheiro, who described his clients as “the most aggrieved Respondents,” said the coroner had not yet made any finding capable of being quashed by the High Court.
“The court does not hunger or thirst for jurisdiction,” Pinheiro said, stressing that judicial review could not be used to pre-empt a decision the coroner had not yet made. He likened the hospital’s application to a “Usain Bolt/Ben Johnson” suit, arguing that Eurapharma had approached the court before the coroner had actually taken evidence or reached a substantive determination.
Background
Nkanu, one of Adichie’s 21-month-old twins, died on January 7, 2026, following complications during a series of preparatory medical procedures at Euracare Hospital in Victoria Island, Lagos. He had first been treated at Atlantis Paediatric Hospital before being referred to Euracare, where he later died. His parents have alleged prima facie breaches of the duty of care in his treatment, including claims relating to sedation procedures, monitoring lapses and delays in emergency response. Euracare has denied the allegations of medical negligence, describing them as inaccurate and unfounded.
In February, the coroner, Magistrate Atinuke Adetunji, sitting at the Igbosere magisterial district in Yaba, commenced proceedings to investigate and determine the circumstances surrounding Nkanu’s death. It was reported that during the proceedings, it emerged that the child had been cremated a development that raised questions about the availability of primary forensic evidence.
Eurapharma subsequently approached the Lagos High Court to seek a judicial review of whether the coroner’s court properly assumed jurisdiction, particularly given that the child’s body had already been cremated before the inquest began. In June, the Lagos High Court ordered a temporary halt to the inquest pending that judicial review. The coroner subsequently adjourned the inquest proceedings to October, in line with the High Court’s order.
Monday’s Proceedings
At Monday’s hearing, before Justice Aishat Opesanwo at the court’s Osborne Foreshore Estate division in Ikoyi, Pinheiro said the coroner’s inquest was still at a preliminary stage, and that no witness or evidence had yet been tendered before the coroner. He argued that the judicial review filed by the hospital could not be used to pre-empt a decision the coroner had not yet made, submitting that certiorari and prohibition could not be used to transfer to the High Court a special proceeding the law had assigned to the coroner.
Pinheiro argued that Sections 21 and 31 of the Lagos State Coroners’ System Law stipulate that an inquest can take place when a body has been destroyed or cannot be recovered. The senior lawyer said the absence of the body does not nullify the coroner’s jurisdiction to conduct an inquest.
Lagos State Attorney-General Lawal Pedro, SAN, also urged the court to dismiss the hospital’s suit, similarly describing it as premature and arguing that the coroner had neither asserted nor exceeded her jurisdiction in a manner warranting the High Court’s intervention. Counsel for Atlantis Paediatric Hospital, a separate party to the case, also urged the court to strike out the suit and allow the inquest to resume.
The Hospital’s Position
Taiwo Osipitan, SAN, counsel for Eurapharma, argued that the hospital should not be compelled to present its evidence first when the complainant who had alleged medical negligence had not yet presented its own evidence. Osipitan contended that although a coroner’s inquest is ordinarily inquisitorial in nature, it was “accusatorial in substance” in this case, given the specific allegations of medical negligence made against the hospital and its staff. At the heart of Eurapharma’s application are two central issues: whether the hospital and its personnel can be required to begin leading evidence before the family has presented its case, and whether the coroner can lawfully continue the inquest given the cremation of Nkanu’s remains.
After hearing the parties, Justice Opesanwo reserved ruling until October 12, 2026.
