Dr Ivara Esege and his wife, award-winning author Chimamanda Adichie, have asked the Lagos State High Court to dismiss a suit filed by Eurapharma Care Services Nigeria Limited seeking to stop the coroner’s inquest into the death of their son, Master Nkanu Adichie-Esege.
At the resumed proceedings on Monday, counsel to the couple, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, described his clients as “the most aggrieved Respondents” and urged the court to reject the hospital’s application for judicial review.
Pinheiro argued that the application was premature because the coroner had neither reached a decision nor made any determination capable of being challenged or quashed by the High Court.
He described the action as a “Usain Bolt/Ben Johnson” suit, arguing that Eurapharma had approached the court before the coroner’s proceedings had reached a stage warranting judicial intervention.
The submissions were made in support of a preliminary objection filed in Suit No. LD/7069MJR/2026, before Justice A.O. Opesanwo of the Lagos State High Court sitting at Osborne, Ikoyi.
According to Pinheiro, the court’s jurisdiction is not exercised simply because a party seeks judicial intervention, stressing that it could only act where the law confers the necessary jurisdiction.
Eurapharma is asking the court to issue orders of certiorari and prohibition against the coroner’s proceedings. It is also challenging a directive requiring the hospital to begin presenting its evidence at the inquest.
The hospital had further argued that the inquest could not validly continue following the cremation of Nkanu’s remains, maintaining that the absence of the body made the proceedings impossible.
But Pinheiro disagreed, contending that the proceedings being challenged were still at a preliminary and procedural stage.
He told the court that no witness had been called, no evidence had been taken and the coroner had not made any substantive finding on the circumstances surrounding Nkanu’s death.
He therefore submitted that judicial review could not be deployed to prevent a decision that had not yet been made.
Relying on Section 21 of the Lagos State Coroners’ System Law, Pinheiro argued that the legislation specifically provides for circumstances in which an inquest may be conducted even where a body has been destroyed or cannot be recovered.
He also referred to Section 31(1) of the law, particularly the provision requiring the coroner to view the body “if any”.
According to him, the wording of the provision indicates that the absence of remains does not, by itself, deprive the coroner of jurisdiction to conduct an inquest.
The Lagos State Attorney-General, Lawal Pedro, SAN, also urged the court to uphold his preliminary objection to Eurapharma’s suit.
Relying particularly on Grounds 3 and 4 of the objection, Pedro asked Justice Opesanwo to strike out the suit and allow the coroner’s inquest to continue.
Counsel representing Atlantis Paediatric Hospital Limited, Dr Abiodun Layonu, SAN, and Adeniji Kazeem, SAN, aligned themselves with the submissions of the Attorney-General and Pinheiro.
They argued that Eurapharma’s complaint had effectively been addressed during proceedings before the coroner on April 14, 2026, when it was agreed that the family would first lead evidence.
The counsel further relied on Sections 21 and 40 of the Lagos State Coroners’ System Law to contend that an inquest could proceed even where the body of the deceased could not be recovered.
They consequently urged the court to dismiss the suit and allow the parties to return to the coroner’s court to continue the inquest.
However, counsel to Eurapharma, Prof Taiwo Osipitan, SAN, maintained that his client should not be compelled to open its defence or commence presentation of evidence before the family had first established the allegations of medical incompetence made against the hospital.
After listening to the arguments from the parties, Justice Opesanwo reserved ruling on the applications until October 12, 2026.
