Mirian Gom 
Nigerian author, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
LAGOS, Nigeria – A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has dismissed an application by Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital seeking to halt a coroner’s inquest into the death of Nkanu Esege, the 21-month-old son of author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her husband, Ivara Esege.
Justice Aishat Opesanwo, in a ruling delivered on Monday, struck out the hospital’s application for writs of certiorari and prohibition, holding that the suit was based on a misunderstanding of the nature and jurisdiction of a coroner’s court.
The judge held that an inquest was compulsory under Section 15(2) of the Lagos State Coroner’s System Law 2007 for a death in custody occurring within a medical facility. She also rejected the hospital’s argument that the child’s cremation and the absence of his body deprived the coroner of jurisdiction.
According to the court, the location where the death occurred, rather than the physical presence of a corpse during proceedings, determines the coroner’s authority to conduct the inquiry.
The ruling clears the way for the inquest into the child’s death to proceed. Justice Opesanwo stressed that a coroner’s inquest is intended to establish the circumstances surrounding a death, including who died, how, when and where the death occurred.
She said the process was not a criminal or civil trial designed to determine liability or punish any party. “A coroner’s inquest is a fact-finding inquiry… It is not a trial. No one is on trial in a coroner’s court. Unlike other courts—whether civil or criminal—there is no claimant, prosecution, or defence,” the judge said.
The court also held that the coroner had statutory discretion to determine the sequence in which witness statements and evidence would be taken. Justice Opesanwo ruled that judicial review could not be used to truncate an inquiry required by state law.
About the Author
Hope Ajayi 
Korede Abdullah 
Oluwatobi Adu 