Posted by Chinenye on Tue 13th Oct, 2026 - tori.ng
A Lagos court has made a key decision in the case surrounding the death of author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichies young son.
(Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital. Photo by The Whistler)
A Lagos High Court has cleared the way for a coroner's inquest into the death of Nkanu Esege, son of author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Justice Aishat Opesanwo ruled on Monday that the cremation of his body does not stop the inquiry from going ahead.
The ruling struck out an application by Eurapharma Care Services Nigeria Limited, which runs Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital.
The hospital argued that the cremation made a post-mortem impossible and took away the coroner's power to act.
It also challenged how statements from medical staff and others linked to the hospital would be received.
Nkanu died on January 7, 2026, after medical procedures.
The judge said the law does not require the body to be present for an inquest.
She also said it was too early for the hospital to complain about the outcome, since the inquest has not yet formally started.
She explained that an inquest is a fact-finding process meant to establish who died, how, when and where.
It is not a trial.
"It is not a trial, no one is on trial in a coroner's court," she said.
On the fair hearing claim, she said the coroner can decide the order in which evidence is heard.
Disagreeing with that decision does not mean a breach of fair hearing, she added.