The Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikoyi has dismissed 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 Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her husband, Dr Ivara Esege. Justice Aishat Opesanwo ruled that the inquiry could proceed despite the cremation of the deceased’s body.
The hospital had challenged the jurisdiction of the coroner, Magistrate Atinuke Adetunji, arguing that the absence of the body from the coroner’s district invalidated the proceedings. It also questioned the decision to receive evidence from medical personnel and other witnesses in a particular order, claiming that the procedure could violate its constitutional right to a fair hearing.
However, Justice Opesanwo held that a coroner’s inquest was a statutory fact-finding exercise designed to establish the circumstances surrounding a death, rather than a trial to determine criminal or civil liability. She explained that the process seeks to establish who died, how and when the death occurred, and where it happened.
The judge relied on Sections 15 and 20 of the Coroners System Law of Lagos State, 2007, to explain the legal basis for conducting the inquiry. She held that the statutory conditions triggering the inquest were not defeated by the subsequent cremation of the body, adding that the hospital had not established that the coroner lacked jurisdiction.
Rejecting the argument that the absence of the body would make the inquiry speculative, the judge said the hospital was attempting to challenge an anticipated outcome before the inquest had formally commenced. She maintained that concerns about what the inquiry might establish were insufficient grounds to halt the proceedings.
On the hospital’s fair-hearing argument, Justice Opesanwo said the coroner had the discretion to determine the sequence in which statements and evidence would be received. She held that disagreement with the chosen procedure did not, on its own, establish a breach of constitutional rights or justify stopping the inquiry.
The court consequently upheld preliminary objections filed by six respondents and struck out the hospital’s application. The ruling clears the way for the coroner’s inquest into the circumstances surrounding Nkanu Esege’s death to proceed.
