Court pauses investigation into Adichie’s son's death

The Lagos State High Court has put a hold on the coroner’s inquest into the death of Nkanu Adichie-Esege, the son of author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Ivara Esege.

Justice A. O. Opesanwo gave this order on Monday after an ex parte application from Eurapharma Care Services Nigeria Limited, the owners of Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital in Victoria Island, where the child reportedly died on 7 January.

A legal team led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Professor Taiwo Osipitan, presented the application in court.

The applicant asked the court to allow them to start judicial review proceedings against some decisions made by the Lagos Coroner’s District Court, which Senior Magistrate A. A. Adetunji presided over.

Eurapharma Care Services claimed in court documents, as reported by Vanguard, that the coroner court had no right to continue with the inquest. They argued that the child's body had already been cremated before the inquest began, making any post-mortem examination impossible.

The hospital also challenged the coroner’s court order that required it to present its defence and call its witnesses first, even though the child’s parents had already raised claims of medical negligence.

In its motion, Eurapharma Care Services asked the court for several remedies through judicial review. They wanted orders to cancel rulings made by the coroner court on 21 January, 25 February, and 14 April 2026.

The company also sought orders to stop the coroner’s court from continuing the inquest. They argued that allowing the inquest to proceed would violate due process and exceed the court's authority.

Justice Opesanwo ruled on the application, stating that the issues raised were important enough to be considered in detail later.

“The Court is satisfied that the Applicant has met the threshold for the grant of leave. The application is not frivolous or vexatious. It raises issues of procedure and fairness that ought to be ventilated at the substantive stage,” the judge said.

The court then granted leave for judicial review. It ordered that this leave acts as a pause on all further proceedings before the coroner’s court until the main case is resolved.

The court directed Eurapharma Care Services to file its judicial review documents within 14 days of the ruling and to serve all respondents involved in the matter.

The case has been adjourned to 9 June for more hearings.

Respondents in the suit include Senior Magistrate A. A. Adetunji, who oversaw the coroner’s court; the Chief Coroner of Lagos State; the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State; Dr Ivara Esege; author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; and Atlantis Pediatric Hospital Limited.

Each respondent is either directly involved in the coroner proceedings or connected to the medical treatment and investigation around the death of Nkanu Adichie-Esege.

The Lagos State Government started the coroner’s inquest after the death of 21-month-old Nkanu Adichie-Esege on 7 January, following treatment at Atlantis Pediatric Hospital.

The child was later taken to Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital in Victoria Island, Lagos, where he died. At the same time, plans were being made for medical evacuation to Johns Hopkins Hospital in the United States.

Chimamanda Adichie and her husband, Dr Ivara Esege, claimed that the death was due to medical negligence. They raised issues about sedation, monitoring problems, and delays in emergency response during treatment.

Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital denied any wrongdoing. They stated that their medical staff acted properly during treatment.

In a previous report, Premium Times had reported that the coroner’s inquest was earlier paused by a directive from the Lagos State Attorney-General, Lawal Pedro.

In March, the Medical and Dental Practitioners Investigation Panel suspended Euracare’s medical director and two doctors after finding initial evidence of medical negligence. The related disciplinary and legal processes are still ongoing.