Court stops Euracare from blocking inquiry into Chimamanda Adichie’s son’s death

The Lagos State High Court in Ikoyi on Monday turned down a request from Eurapharma Care Services Nigeria Limited. This company runs Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital. They wanted to stop a coroner’s inquest into the death of Nkanu Adichie-Esege. He was the 21-month-old son of writer Chimamanda Adichie and her husband, Ivara Esege.

Judge Aishat Opesanwo said that not having the child's body does not stop the coroner from looking into how he died, according to Channels TV.

The hospital claimed that because Nkanu’s body was cremated, a post-mortem examination could not happen. They argued that this could leave the inquest based on guesswork.

They also challenged a rule asking their medical staff to give evidence before others. The hospital said this violated their right to a fair hearing.

Kemi Pinheiro, the couple’s lawyer and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, told the court to throw out the hospital’s request. He said it was early to challenge anything since the coroner had not made any real decision yet.

During the hearing on 28 September, Mr Pinheiro pointed out that no witnesses had spoken and no real findings had been made. He said the hospital wanted the High Court to cancel a decision that wasn’t even made.

Lawal Pedro, the Lagos State Attorney-General and also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, asked the court to dismiss the suit. Abiodun Layonu and Adeniji Kazeem, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria representing Atlantis Paediatric Hospital Limited, supported the reasons for rejecting the application.

Mr Layonu told the court that they had talked about the order for presenting evidence during a meeting with the coroner on 14 April. It was agreed that the family would go first.

But Eurapharma’s lawyer, Taiwo Osipitan, SAN, said the hospital should not have to present its evidence before the family had presented theirs to back up claims of medical negligence.

On the issue of the cremation, Mr Pinheiro referred to Sections 21 and 31(1) of the Lagos State Coroners’ System Law. He argued that the law allows the inquest to continue even if a body has been destroyed or cannot be found.

In her ruling, Mrs Opesanwo mentioned Section 15(2) of the law. This section calls for a mandatory inquest in cases involving deaths in medical facilities. The judge explained that a coroner’s inquest is a fact-finding process, not a criminal or civil trial where people get prosecuted or found guilty.

“A coroner’s inquest is a fact-finding inquiry. It is not a trial. No one is on trial in a coroner’s court,” she said.

She added that the coroner had the legal power to decide the order in which witnesses and evidence are presented. She noted that judicial review could not be used to stop proceedings required by law.

Nkanu died on 7 January after being treated at Atlantis Paediatric Hospital. He was later referred to Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital in Victoria Island, Lagos.

His parents claimed that medical negligence played a part in his death. They raised concerns about sedation, oxygen use, monitoring, and the hospital's emergency response.

Euracare denied any wrongdoing. They insisted that their medical staff followed standard procedures and that the child came to their facility critically ill.

The Lagos State Government started a coroner’s inquest to find out what led to the toddler’s death. In June, the High Court allowed Eurapharma to challenge the proceedings and paused the inquest until their application was decided.

In March, the Medical and Dental Practitioners Investigation Panel suspended the hospital’s medical director and two doctors after finding a case of medical negligence. This finding was not a final judgment of guilt.

The court's recent decision allows the inquest to move forward.