The Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikoyi has rejected an application by Eurapharma Care Services Nigeria Limited, operators of Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital, seeking to stop the coroner’s inquest into the death of Nkanu Esege, son of renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Justice Aishat Opesanwo struck out the hospital’s application on Monday after ruling that the cremation of the deceased’s body did not prevent the coroner from investigating the circumstances surrounding his death.
The hospital had challenged the coroner’s jurisdiction, arguing that the absence of the body would make a post-mortem examination impossible and undermine the reliability of the inquiry.
It also questioned the coroner’s decision to receive statements and evidence from medical personnel and other parties connected to the facilities where Nkanu received treatment before his death.
However, Justice Opesanwo maintained that the decision to conduct an inquest was a legal obligation under the Coroners System Law of Lagos State 2007, provided the statutory conditions were met.
According to the judge, the hospital failed to establish that the conditions required for the coroner to exercise jurisdiction under Section 15 of the law were absent.
She explained that the legislation did not require the deceased’s body to remain within the coroner’s district when the inquest eventually commenced.
The judge also dismissed the argument that cremation would reduce the proceedings to speculation, describing the hospital’s concerns about the possible outcome as premature.
“I am not persuaded by the submission made by the applicant’s counsel that the cremation of the body means the inquest and its conclusion will be predicated on speculation and conjecture,” she said.
Justice Opesanwo noted that the inquest had not formally begun and that its purpose was to establish the facts surrounding the death rather than determine criminal or civil liability.
She explained that a coroner’s inquiry seeks to establish the identity of the deceased, as well as the circumstances, time and place of death.
“It is not a trial; no one is on trial in a coroner’s court,” the judge said, emphasising that the process was inquisitorial rather than adversarial.
The court further rejected the hospital’s complaint about the sequence in which evidence would be presented, holding that the coroner had the discretion to determine how statements and other evidence would be received.
Justice Opesanwo said disagreement with the exercise of that discretion did not, in itself, amount to a violation of the right to a fair hearing.
She also clarified that the procedural and evidential rules governing ordinary civil cases did not apply to coroner’s inquests in exactly the same way.
Following the court’s decision, the preliminary objections raised by the respondents were upheld, and the hospital’s substantive application was struck out.
Nkanu died on January 7, 2026, following medical procedures. His death prompted an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his treatment and eventual demise.
