Lagos Court Dismisses Hospital’s Application To Halt Adichie Son’s Inquest

The Lagos State High Court has dismissed an application by Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital seeking to stop an inquest into the death of Nkanu Esege, the 21-month-old son of renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Justice Aishat Opesanwo, in a ruling delivered on Monday, October 12, 2026, held that the cremation of the child’s body did not strip the coroner’s court of its jurisdiction to conduct the inquest.

Nkanu died on January 7, 2026, at the hospital operated by Eurapharma Care Services Nigeria Limited.

The hospital had sought to halt the proceedings, arguing that conducting an inquest without the child’s body for a post-mortem examination could result in speculative conclusions. It also challenged the procedure for receiving evidence from medical personnel and other parties.

However, the judge explained that a coroner’s inquest was primarily a fact-finding process intended to establish the circumstances surrounding a death, rather than a criminal or civil trial aimed at determining liability or imposing punishment.

According to the ruling, the absence of the body following cremation does not prevent the coroner’s court from examining the available evidence and investigating the circumstances of the child’s death.

The decision clears the way for the inquest to proceed, allowing the relevant authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding Nkanu’s death.