Court strikes out hospital’s bid to stop Adichie son’s inquest

The Lagos State High Court recently dismissed Eurapharma Care Services Nigeria Limited's attempt to prevent a coroner's inquest into the death of Nkanu Esege, son of renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie. Justice Aishat Opesanwo ruled against the hospital's arguments that the cremation of the deceased's body deprived the coroner of jurisdiction and that the order for receiving evidence violated its right to a fair hearing.

The judge emphasized that the inquest was required by law and that the absence of the deceased's body did not invalidate the coroner's decision to proceed. Euracare contested the coroner's jurisdiction, citing the cremation of the body and objections to the coroner's decision to receive evidence from medical personnel. However, Justice Opesanwo stated that the coroner's decision to conduct the inquest was based on statutory obligations, not discretion.

She further dismissed concerns about the cremation's impact on the inquest's outcome and noted that the inquest is an inquisitorial, fact-finding process, not a trial. The court rejected the hospital's concerns about the order of evidence presentation and emphasized that the rules of evidence and procedure for ordinary civil proceedings do not apply in the same manner to a coroner's inquest.