A Lagos court will decide on 12 October 2026 whether the coroner’s inquest into the death of Nkanu Adichie-Esege, son of the author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Dr Ivara Esege, should be stopped.
Justice Aishat Opesanwo of the Lagos State High Court, sitting at Osborne Foreshore in Ikoyi, fixed the date on Monday after hearing arguments from the hospital where the child died, the Lagos State government and the family.
The application was brought by Eurapharma Care Services Nigeria Limited, which operates Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital. The company is asking the court for an order of certiorari to quash decisions already taken in the inquest, and an order of prohibition to restrain the coroner, Magistrate Atinuke Adetunji, from continuing.
Nkanu, a 21-month-old twin, died on 7 January 2026 at Euracare in Lagos, where he had been undergoing medical procedures. His parents allege prima facie breaches of the duty of care in his treatment. The hospital has denied the allegations, describing them as inaccurate and unfounded. The court has not made any determination of liability, and the competing accounts remain allegations.
The hospital’s case rests on two main arguments, put forward by its counsel, Prof Taiwo Osipitan (SAN). The first concerns the order in which evidence is to be led. Osipitan argued that the hospital and its personnel should not be compelled to call witnesses first, before the family, which has alleged medical incompetence, has led its own evidence. He said this sequence created a likelihood of breaching the applicant’s right to a fair hearing.
According to Osipitan, an earlier agreement between the parties related only to the convenience of hearing dates, not to who would present evidence first. He said Euracare had never consented to being the first party to call witnesses.
The second argument concerns the coroner’s jurisdiction. Relying on Sections 14 and 15 of the Lagos State Coroners System Law, Osipitan submitted that the coroner’s authority was linked to the presence of the deceased’s body within the relevant coroner district. Because Nkanu’s remains had been cremated, he argued, a post-mortem examination could no longer be conducted and the cause of death could not be established without speculation.
The family opposed the application and asked the court to dismiss it. Their lead counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), described the hospital’s judicial review as premature, arguing that the coroner had not made any decision or determination of right that the High Court could quash.
Pinheiro told the court that an inquest is a fact-finding exercise rather than a criminal trial, and has neither a defendant nor a claimant. He said the coroner’s findings would be forwarded to relevant authorities, including the Attorney-General and the Director of Public Prosecutions, for consideration of any further action.
The Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro (SAN), also urged the court to dismiss the hospital’s application. He relied on Section 21 of the Lagos State Coroners System Law, which he said empowers a coroner to conduct an inquest notwithstanding the destruction or unavailability of the deceased’s body.
Pedro further argued that the judicial review was premature because, at the time it was filed, the coroner had not taken any evidence or testimony. Justice Opesanwo reserved ruling until 12 October after hearing all parties.
The case has moved slowly through the year. The Coroner’s Court, sitting at the Yaba Magistrate Court, had in February fixed 14 April 2026 for the inquest to begin, according to court proceedings at the time. Court documents cited then indicated that Nkanu was first admitted to Atlantis Hospital for an illness that initially appeared mild before worsening, and was later moved to Euracare.
The dispute has also played out in public. Adichie has written about her son’s death and published correspondence addressed to the hospital, while the hospital has maintained its denial of negligence. Those public statements sit outside the court process, and the inquest is the mechanism through which the circumstances of the death are being formally examined.
For now, the substantive inquest is on hold pending the October ruling. If Justice Opesanwo dismisses the hospital’s application, the coroner is expected to proceed. If the court grants the reliefs sought, the proceedings before Magistrate Adetunji could be halted or set aside. The judge is yet to rule, and the outcome will determine whether the inquest continues in its current form.