The Coroner’s Court at the Igbosere Magistrate Court in Lagos has postponed the inquest into the death of 21-month-old Master Nkanu Adichie-Esege, the son of famous author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Dr. Ivara Esege, to October 8, 2026.
Coroner Magistrate Atinuke Adetunji set this date on Wednesday after Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, the lawyer for Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital, told the court that the Lagos State High Court had ordered a stay of proceedings. This stay is pending a judicial review application the hospital filed.
The inquest was meant to start hearing before this new development.
Osipitan explained that Euracare went to the High Court to challenge whether the Coroner’s Court could proceed. He argued that the child's body was allegedly cremated before the inquest began.
He said the judicial review wants to find out if the Coroner’s Court can legally hold an inquest without the deceased’s body.
“The High Court granted leave for judicial review and also ordered that until the substantive suit is determined, proceedings in this Coroner’s Court should be on hold,” Osipitan said.
He added that the High Court postponed the matter to June 8, 2026, and asked the Coroner's Court to delay further actions according to the order.
Adebola Araba, a lawyer from the Lagos State Attorney-General’s Office, told the court that he had not yet received a copy of the enrolled order. But Osipitan insisted that the Attorney-General’s office had already received it.
Meanwhile, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), the lawyer for the deceased’s family, shared that four witness statements on oath had been filed and served to all parties involved.
The witnesses include the child’s father, Dr. Ivara Esege, medical experts Dr. Chinwe Ego from Arizona, another doctor from Minnesota in the United States, and Prof. Adekola from Lagos University Teaching Hospital.
While acknowledging the High Court’s order, Pinheiro stressed that the inquest should eventually move forward.
“He who has nothing to hide should not fear an open inquest. An innocent man has nothing to fear. It is darkness that fears the light,” he told the court.
Pinheiro also urged the coroner to postpone the matter until after the court vacation instead of delaying it indefinitely.
Efe Ize-Iyamu, the lawyer for Atlantis Pediatric Hospital, confirmed that his client had received the High Court order and the originating motion.
He supported Pinheiro’s view, noting that while everyone is bound by the stay order, responses had already been filed.
In response, Osipitan maintained that the main issue in the High Court was whether the Coroner’s Court could take action after the alleged cremation of the child’s body.
Pinheiro, however, argued that inquests could still happen even if a body is not available and said the family would show this during the proceedings.
After listening to all parties, Magistrate Adetunji postponed the matter until October 8, 2026.
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