A Lagos High Court judge, Justice Aishat Opesanwo, will rule on October 12, 2026 on a request by Euracare hospital to stop the coroner’s inquest into the death of Nkanu, son of author Chimamanda Adichie.
The court sat in Osborne Foreshore, Ikoyi, and adjourned the matter on Monday after hearing all sides.
Euracare, the hospital where Nkanu died, wants the court to cancel decisions already made in the inquest and stop coroner Atinuke Adetunji from going ahead.
Its lawyer, Prof Taiwo Osipitan, argued that the coroner has no power to continue because Nkanu’s body has been cremated.
He said cause of death normally needs a post-mortem, and without one the inquest would end in guesswork.
He added that the Chief Pathologist of Lagos State neither carried out a post-mortem nor approved the cremation.
Osipitan also complained about the order of witnesses.
He said the hospital was being asked to speak first before the family lays out its claims, which he said could deny it a fair hearing.
According to him, the hospital never agreed to go first and an earlier agreement only covered hearing dates.
He said the inquest may look like a simple fact-finding process but in this case it is really about accusing the hospital of negligence.
Lagos Attorney-General Lawal Pedro asked the court to throw out the application.
He said the law lets a coroner go ahead even when a body has been destroyed or is not available.
He also said the case was filed too early since the coroner had not yet taken any evidence, and that she had not overstepped her powers.
Lawyer for the family, Kemi Pinheiro, agreed and called the application premature.
He said there was no decision yet that the court could review.
He explained that an inquest is only a search for facts, with no accused person and no trial, and that the findings would go to the Attorney-General and the Director of Public Prosecutions for any next step.
Nkanu died on January 7, 2026 at Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital in Lagos.
His parents, Adichie and her husband Dr Ivara Esege, have alleged that the hospital failed in its duty of care.
Euracare denies this and says the claims are untrue and baseless.
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