(Nigeria Author, Chimamanda Adichie. Photo Credit: Punch News)
The Coroner’s Court sitting at the Igbosere Magistrate Court on Lagos Island has adjourned further proceedings in the inquest into the death of 21-month-old Master Nkanu Adichie-Esege son of celebrated author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Dr. Ivara Esege to October 8, 2026.
Coroner Magistrate Atinuke Adetunji fixed the new date on Wednesday after counsel to Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, informed the court that the Lagos State High Court had issued an order staying the inquest proceedings pending the outcome of a judicial review application filed by the hospital.
The inquest had been scheduled to commence hearing before this development arose.
Osipitan explained that Euracare had approached the High Court to contest the jurisdiction of the Coroner’s Court, on the grounds that the body of the deceased child had allegedly been cremated before the inquest process was initiated.
The judicial review, he said, seeks to determine whether a Coroner’s Court can lawfully conduct an inquest in the absence of the deceased’s remains.
He added that the High Court had granted leave for the judicial review and directed that all proceedings before the Coroner’s Court be suspended until the substantive suit is resolved, with the High Court matter adjourned to June 8, 2026.
A counsel from the Lagos State Attorney-General’s Office, Adebola Araba, told the court that he had not yet received a copy of the enrolled order, though Osipitan maintained that the Attorney-General’s office had already been served.
Counsel to the deceased’s family, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), disclosed that four witness statements on oath had been filed and served on all parties.
The proposed witnesses include the child’s father, Dr. Ivara Esege, two medical experts based in the United States Dr. Chinwe Ego from Arizona and another doctor from Minnesota and Prof. Adekola of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.
While acknowledging the existence of the High Court’s stay order, Pinheiro maintained that the inquest must ultimately go ahead. In a pointed statement, he told the court that those with nothing to hide should not fear an open inquest, adding that it is only darkness that fears the light.
He also urged the coroner to adjourn the matter to a date after the court vacation rather than leaving it open-ended.
Counsel for Atlantis Pediatric Hospital, Efe Ize-Iyamu, confirmed that his client had been served with the High Court order and the originating motion, and aligned himself with Pinheiro’s position noting that while all parties were bound by the stay order, responses had already been filed.
Osipitan, in response, reiterated that the core question before the High Court was whether the Coroner’s Court could assume jurisdiction at all, given the alleged cremation of the child’s body.
Pinheiro countered by arguing that inquests can lawfully proceed even where a body is unavailable, and indicated that the family would present evidence to support this position during the proceedings.
After hearing submissions from all parties, Magistrate Adetunji adjourned the matter to October 8, 2026.
