Precious Nwonu, Enugu

The Lagos State High Court sitting in Osborne Foreshore, Ikoyi, has struck out an application by Eurapharma Care Services Nigeria Limited, operators of Euracare Multi-Specialist Hospital, seeking to halt the coroner’s inquest into the death of Nkanu Esege, son of Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Justice Aishat Opesanwo struck out the application on Monday after rejecting the hospital’s arguments that the cremation of the deceased’s body deprived the coroner of jurisdiction and that the procedure for receiving evidence breached its right to a fair hearing.

The judge held that the inquest was a statutory requirement and that the absence of the body did not automatically prevent the coroner from investigating the circumstances surrounding the death.

Nkanu died on January 7, 2026, following medical procedures, prompting an inquiry into the circumstances of his death.

In its application, Euracare argued that the cremation of the body meant a post-mortem examination could no longer be conducted. The hospital also challenged the coroner’s decision to receive statements and evidence from medical personnel and other individuals connected to the facilities where the deceased received treatment.

However, Justice Opesanwo held that the hospital had failed to establish that the conditions required to empower the coroner to conduct the inquest under Section 15 of the Coroners System Law of Lagos State 2007 were absent.

The judge explained that the law required an inquest to be conducted where a death fell within any of the specified circumstances and occurred within the relevant coroner’s district.

“The provision gives no room for exercise of discretion in the decision to conduct an inquest once a death results from any one of the nine situations specified, and that it occurs within the area designated as the coroner’s district,” she said.

According to the judge, the hospital’s argument focused on the location of the deceased’s body rather than the circumstances that originally gave the coroner jurisdiction to conduct the inquiry.

She noted that the law did not require the body to remain within the coroner’s district on the date the inquest was held.

Justice Opesanwo also rejected the hospital’s contention that cremation would make the proceedings speculative and undermine the reliability of the findings.

“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.

The judge further observed that the inquest had not formally commenced, describing the hospital’s concerns about its eventual outcome as premature.

“What is obvious is that the applicant is concerned with future occurrences, which is the outcome of the inquest,” she added.

Explaining the purpose of the proceedings, Justice Opesanwo said a coroner’s inquest was a fact-finding exercise aimed at establishing the identity of the deceased, as well as when, where and how the death occurred.

“It is not a trial; no one is on trial in a coroner’s court,” she said, stressing that the process was inquisitorial rather than adversarial.

She added that the inquest was not intended to assign blame or punish any party but to establish the facts surrounding the death.

On the hospital’s objection to the order in which evidence would be received, the judge held that the coroner had the discretion to determine the sequence of statements and evidence presented during the proceedings.

She said disagreement with the order adopted by the coroner did not, by itself, amount to a breach of fair hearing or invalidate the exercise of that discretion.

The judge also noted that the evidentiary and procedural rules governing ordinary civil proceedings did not apply in precisely the same way to a coroner’s inquest.

Justice Opesanwo concluded that the hospital’s application rested on a misunderstanding of the nature and purpose of the inquiry. She upheld the preliminary objections raised by the respondents and struck out the substantive application.