Court Dismisses Euracare Hospital's Bid to Halt Inquest into Death of Chimamanda Adichie’s Son

A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has dismissed an application filed by Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital seeking to halt the coroner’s inquest into the death of Nkanu Esege, the 21-month-old son of renowned author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her husband, Dr. Ivara Esege.

Justice Aishat Opesanwo struck out the hospital’s originating motion for writs of Certiorari and Prohibition, clearing the path for the inquest to proceed. Euracare had argued that because the family chose to cremate the toddler following his January 7, 2026 death at the facility, proceeding without a physical body for post-mortem analysis would render conclusions speculative and waste state resources.

Rejecting these arguments, Justice Opesanwo held that the hospital’s suit rested on a fundamental misreading of the law. The court opined that the absence of a body does not deprive a coroner of jurisdiction, emphasizing that an inquest is strictly a fact-finding inquiry rather than a civil or criminal trial.

"No one is on trial in a coroner's court. Unlike other courts, whether civil or criminal, there is no claimant, prosecution, or defence,"

the judge stated.

Following a series of family losses, Adichie and her husband opted for cremation to spare themselves the trauma of another, and even more emotionally tasking, funeral. Rather than receiving empathy and consideration, the grieving parents faced accusations from the hospital of tampering with evidence, and a lot of behavioral indiscretions that may well be termed as gaslighting.

When the family subsequently requested an inquest to uncover the truth behind alleged medical negligence, Euracare actively fought the motion in court. This aggressive resistance is highly questionable and unseemly, raising difficult questions as to why an institution professing innocence would fight transparency or put a grieving family through unnecessary legal distress. With the court's dismissal of Euracare's legal roadblocks, the coroner's inquest is now set to move forward and due process is finally set in motion after a grueling aftermath of such a tragic loss.